Padel gets social at stunning O2 location
Padel is coming to London’s iconic O2 arena in the Spring of next year after Padel Social Club secured permission to build three riverside indoor courts, with it aiming to ‘revolutionise’ the way the sport is enjoyed in the city. The Bandeja reports
Padel Social Club at The O2 will occupy a 13,000ft2 bespoke space on the banks of the River Thames – its design makes the most of the location with what is sure to be a popular outdoor mezzanine overlooking the river.
Promoting the social side of padel is key for the club, as CEO Kristian Hunter explained: “We’ve always felt there was a market in the UK to build padel clubs with a big part of the experience focused on the social nature of the game, and our passion for delivering the best possible experience both on and off the court will hopefully satisfy an untapped consumer demand,” he said.
Leisure is core to the fabric of The O2 and we are always evaluating the ways we can take it to the next level. We believe Padel Social Club does exactly this.
Janine Constantin-Russell, The O2
The club, nestled within one of the dome’s arches, will include a bar and cafe offering ‘curated food menus from rotating partnerships with different restaurants and chefs’, social areas and changing rooms. There are hopes it may open the door to professional international padel events at The O2 in years to come.
Iconic
“It’s incredibly exciting to see these projects come to life,” added Kristian. “We’ve been incredibly focused on trying to bring our clubs to iconic locations and there is hardly anything more iconic than The O2. This, alongside our imminent show court in Earls Court, in such a central London location, will be a great platform to showcase the Padel Social Club experience,” he said.
Padel Social Club founder/CEO Kristian Hunter.
The Earls Court show court will be open at Empress Place shortly until October 28th. The O2 club is the first announced purpose-built, permanent location for Padel Social Club – it has previously opened courts at Soho House’s Babington House in Somerset and a beach ‘pop-up’ in Cannes for real estate conference Mipim. It expects to make announcements of more venues in London/around the country in due course.
family at The Janine Constantin-Russell, Managing Director of The Entertainment District at The O2 said of the plan: “Leisure is core to the fabric of The O2 and we are always evaluating the ways we can take it to the next level. We believe Padel Social Club does exactly this. The sport has become an international phenomenon which will perfectly cater to our varied visitor demographic. We look forward to having Padel Social Club as part of our family at The O2.”
Rob Heasman, CEO of The Earls Court Development Company, said they had a ‘vision to bring the wonder back’ to Earls Court and welcoming Padel Social Club was an early stage of this plan.
“The Earls Court site has long been a stage for world-class culture and entertainment. It hosted the Olympics games twice and we are delighted to build on this sporting legacy,” said Rob.
Investors
Padel Social Club has secured financial backing from consumer investment fund Active Partners, investment ‘angels’ and England international athletes.
Tom Profumo, Partner at Active Partners, said: “With padel being the fastest growing sport in Europe, and a limited number of padel courts currently available in the UK, there is a huge opportunity for a premium and community-focused brand like Padel Social Club to take a leading position in the UK market. As consumer investors who have partnered with a host of community-led brands like Soho House, Rapha and Secret Cinema, we are excited to work with Kristian and the team to bring their distinct padel experience to enthusiasts in London and across the UK.” 🎾
