Californian uni scores US padel first
Construction has started on the first-ever padel/pickleball centre on a US university campus, a trail-blazing move hoped to pave the way for introducing padel into the American college system.
California’s University of the Pacific, working with Western USA padel operator Taktika Padel, is installing four padel plus eight pickleball courts at its Stockton campus.
“This unique and powerful partnership will serve the Pacific community by providing two exciting new sports for our students to play while filling a great need in the Central Valley for more pickleball courts and getting people excited about padel,” said university president Christopher Callahan.
Traction
Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in America, going from 4.8 million players in 2021 to 8.9 million last year. Padel is gaining traction but has some way to go, with just over 200 courts throughout the country, including in New York, Florida and Texas.
Taktika opened its first padel centre in San Diego in 2021 and its second – in Los Angeles – this summer. Its Pacific university venue will be the fourth public padel facility in California.
Taktika chairman and co-founder Gabriel Perez Krieb estimates the US could have 30,000 padel courts by 2029.
Central
Ryan Redondo, Taktika Padel CEO and former Pacific Director of Tennis, said the university partnership was ‘central’ to the company’s plan to open 200 publicly accessible padel courts on the West Coast within the next two years: “Our driving motivation is to bring padel to as many different communities as possible so that everyone has the opportunity to experience this exhilarating sport,” he said.
“Central to our vision has been to develop padel among young people and introduce the sport into the college system in the US. This unique partnership provides the springboard to do just that and embrace the popularity pickleball has had in the US with the popularity padel has had overseas. Our partnership with the University of the Pacific is an American first and I’m confident it will pave the way for other college campuses to embrace these two insurgent racket sports as they gain popularity across our country,” added Ryan.
The partnership will see Taktika Padel construct, operate and maintain the new complex. The company is installing Wilson Elite padel courts for the first time, following its recently-announced partnership with padel court manufacturer Padel Galis. 🎾
