Padel Social Club readies giant O2 site

Padel Social Club, the brand that brings padel tennis and socialising together, has announced a new project at The O2 in London.

The group, which is backed by Active Partners, has secured planning permission to establish a new facility at The O2 that will occupy 13,000 sq ft and house three indoor courts.

In addition to padel areas, the facility will feature an array of amenities designed to enhance the social nature of the sport. Guests will have access to social areas, a bar and a cafe that will offer food menus from rotating partnerships with different restaurants and chefs. 

The O2 already houses operators in similar social spaces, such as iFLY Indoor Skydiving, TOCA Social and Boom Battle Bar.

"It’s incredibly exciting to see these projects come to life," says Kristian Hunter, CEO of Padel Social Club. "Since we started the business, 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 showcourt in Earls Court, in such a central London location, will be a great platform to showcase the Padel Social Club experience. Looking at the success of the best padel clubs in Europe, 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."

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This O2 announcement follows Padel Social Club's ventures at Soho House's Babington House, which launched last year, and an innovative pop-up in Cannes for real estate conference Mipim. 

"Leisure is a core part to the fabric of The O2, and we are always evaluating the ways that we can take it to the next level, and we believe Padel Social Club does exactly this," says Janine Constantin-Russell, managing director of The Entertainment District at The O2. "Not only will the concept complement our existing offer, but the sport has become an international phenomenon which will perfectly cater to our varied visitor demographic. What’s more, the offering reinforces our reputation of delivering an unmatched all-encompassing experience, and we look forward to having Padel Social Club as part of our O2 family."

In 2022, padel clubs held €1.2bn in global market value and the sport has been growing by over 25% year-on-year. 

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