Like Hollye said (hi Hollye!), fantastic article per usual. From my international playing POV, padel will undoubtedly continue to grow in the US. However, I think the ones who close fail to bridge the gap between what developers THINK players want and what players ACTUALLY want - ie, are the extra amenities worth the pricepoint to play? Will players be given a seamless experience routinely finding high-quality matches and training? Will there be a strong community feeling that keeps players coming in and bringing their friends? These questions, of course, vary significantly across geography and demographic, so it's key for operators to constantly listen and develop ways to adapt
Fantastic article…per usual. And yes, all of this is a great reminder that it’s not about putting up courts. It’s about connecting to the community…which is at the heart of padel culture. Thanks for these pertinent reminders. We are fine-tuning our hospitality for when we open in a few months. Keep up the great work with your reporting!!
As an active padel player in the Houston area, I can actually provide some insight on the closures! In SB Padel's case, it was never a truly commercial operator - this is a single court in the back of a private home, and as far as my contacts have told me, while they have closed off their Playtomic bookings, some padel instructors use the court to teach classes, so the court is still active!
As for Houston Padel Indoor, this is actually a curious case - while indeed a single court, it was originally built by Realturf inside their Houston warehouse with no intentions to make it available to the public - they built it with the sole purpose of entertaining themselves and showcasing their padel turf to prospective clients. However, word spread around about it, and the court eventually became available to the public (this was at a time when Playtomic was not as big as it is now in the US, and there were not that many courts within Houston - I even remember playing at this court once before TEMPO opened, actually!). Eventually, Realturf's owners did not want to deal with the potential liability of managing a court that was not intended for public bookings, and took down the court. So, while it technically closed, Houston Padel Indoor was never a "club" in the true sense of the word.
However, while both SB Padel and Houston Padel Indoor couldn't be considered commercial failures in the strict sense of the word, Solarium's case was definitely a complete failure, and I can give an even closer insight for it, as I actually worked inside their clubhouse! And I can tell you, first hand: this is what happens when people who do not know the sport get into the sport just to follow trends - courts of absolutely subpar quality, built with no intrinsic knowledge of the game - I still shrivel when remembering how the GM manager insisted padel was actually called "padelball" (and referred to the courts as "our padelball courts" in front of a booking party! 🤮) after correcting her in private.
However, the article does ring true - padel's unique ceiling requirements, Houston's high humidity and temperatures that lead to cancelled tournaments and open plays through most of the year, and the very expensive commercial real estate required to operate a club makes it Houston a very difficult environment to survive as a padel operator. Nonetheless, the padel playing community - a small but very loyal core in Houston - really has tried (and tries) its best to support its courts (and the people who operate them!)
These are incredible insider insights, thank you for shedding more light on these specific closures. I talk fairly regularly with Mike May -- and am planning a trip to come visit him / the Houston area in early December -- so he's filled me in a bit on some of this, but this is great and much appreciated intel. And if you'd ever want to write a guest article about the Houston padel scene (or anything else), please let me know. It's obvious you know your way around a keyboard as well as you do a padel court.
Like Hollye said (hi Hollye!), fantastic article per usual. From my international playing POV, padel will undoubtedly continue to grow in the US. However, I think the ones who close fail to bridge the gap between what developers THINK players want and what players ACTUALLY want - ie, are the extra amenities worth the pricepoint to play? Will players be given a seamless experience routinely finding high-quality matches and training? Will there be a strong community feeling that keeps players coming in and bringing their friends? These questions, of course, vary significantly across geography and demographic, so it's key for operators to constantly listen and develop ways to adapt
Fantastic article…per usual. And yes, all of this is a great reminder that it’s not about putting up courts. It’s about connecting to the community…which is at the heart of padel culture. Thanks for these pertinent reminders. We are fine-tuning our hospitality for when we open in a few months. Keep up the great work with your reporting!!
As an active padel player in the Houston area, I can actually provide some insight on the closures! In SB Padel's case, it was never a truly commercial operator - this is a single court in the back of a private home, and as far as my contacts have told me, while they have closed off their Playtomic bookings, some padel instructors use the court to teach classes, so the court is still active!
As for Houston Padel Indoor, this is actually a curious case - while indeed a single court, it was originally built by Realturf inside their Houston warehouse with no intentions to make it available to the public - they built it with the sole purpose of entertaining themselves and showcasing their padel turf to prospective clients. However, word spread around about it, and the court eventually became available to the public (this was at a time when Playtomic was not as big as it is now in the US, and there were not that many courts within Houston - I even remember playing at this court once before TEMPO opened, actually!). Eventually, Realturf's owners did not want to deal with the potential liability of managing a court that was not intended for public bookings, and took down the court. So, while it technically closed, Houston Padel Indoor was never a "club" in the true sense of the word.
However, while both SB Padel and Houston Padel Indoor couldn't be considered commercial failures in the strict sense of the word, Solarium's case was definitely a complete failure, and I can give an even closer insight for it, as I actually worked inside their clubhouse! And I can tell you, first hand: this is what happens when people who do not know the sport get into the sport just to follow trends - courts of absolutely subpar quality, built with no intrinsic knowledge of the game - I still shrivel when remembering how the GM manager insisted padel was actually called "padelball" (and referred to the courts as "our padelball courts" in front of a booking party! 🤮) after correcting her in private.
However, the article does ring true - padel's unique ceiling requirements, Houston's high humidity and temperatures that lead to cancelled tournaments and open plays through most of the year, and the very expensive commercial real estate required to operate a club makes it Houston a very difficult environment to survive as a padel operator. Nonetheless, the padel playing community - a small but very loyal core in Houston - really has tried (and tries) its best to support its courts (and the people who operate them!)
Christian,
These are incredible insider insights, thank you for shedding more light on these specific closures. I talk fairly regularly with Mike May -- and am planning a trip to come visit him / the Houston area in early December -- so he's filled me in a bit on some of this, but this is great and much appreciated intel. And if you'd ever want to write a guest article about the Houston padel scene (or anything else), please let me know. It's obvious you know your way around a keyboard as well as you do a padel court.
Cheers,
ae