Boston Seaport Is New U.S. Padel Mini-Mecca
And it's all thanks to these two pioneering padel clubs...
While Padel Boston and Sensa Padel Boston (which has temporarily shuttered pending a move to a new location) were the first clubs to bring padel to the greater Boston area, they are both a bit of a haul from the city itself (as I found out the hard way on a racquet road trip to Boston last summer).
But now, just about seven months later, Beantown has not only one — but two — top-tier padel clubs (one indoors and one outdoors) just over a mile apart in the heart of the Boston Seaport district.
In case you’re not familiar, the Seaport is Boston’s newest neighborhood and now includes offices, restaurants, parks, and many co-working spaces for start-ups. The neighborhood is known for its stunning views of Boston’s downtown, unique and innovative drinking and dining options, experimental art installations, and pop-up shopping markets.
And now it has also become a mini-mecca of U.S. padel thanks to two pioneering padel clubs.
If You Want to Play Indoors…
The first is PADELHUB, which I visited this past summer on said racquets road trip and which I got an amazing pre-opening tour of from the club’s incredibly friendly and detail-oriented founder, Matías Leighton Mouchabek.
I’ve always been a fan of post-apocalypse landscapes, which is exactly what the former Boston Athletic Club location looked like when we toured it — and with good reason (the club closed in March of 2020 due to COVID and never re-opened).
With Matías’s guidance, we snuck through crevices in cinderblock walls and walked across the floor of what used to be an Olympic-sized indoor swimming pool… navigated former administrative offices where desks where still littered with half-drunk bottles of Sprite and Gatorade, left-behind laptops, and cell-phone chargers… and wandered through the dark of a basketball gymnasium where the only light came from the eerie red glow of a scoreboard that still showed the home team trailing 49 - 53 with 0:21 left in the game.
Then there was the gabel-roofed former tennis center, which is the only part of the building PADELHUB actually took over.
Despite all the chaos going on around us, with construction crews working on everything from putting new glass doors on the entrance to assembling the padel courts, Matías couldn’t have been more calm or collected as he walked us through his vision for what the club would eventually looked like.
He also asked our opinion on everything from what colors he should paint the walls to the layout of the pro-shop to the design of the locker rooms — and it was clear he was genuinely interested in our thoughts as players, enthusiasts, and potential customers one day.
Our opinions aside, after seeing pictures and videos of the recently opened PADELHUB with its six indoor MejorSet Courts (in addition to two pickleball courts and a ping-pong table) and 35-foot-plus-high ceilings, I’d say it’s amazing to see how Matías’ vision has played out.
In addition to its top-tier padel and pickleball courts, PADELHUB’s premium club amenities include:
An Adidas-branded pro shop…
Lounge and co-working spaces…
Locker rooms complete with rain showers…
A grab-and-go food and beverage area, and…
45 complimentary parking spots exclusively for members and guests.
As Matías says, “At PADELHUB, we’re bringing more than just the world’s fastest-growing sport to Boston. We’ve built a space designed to bring people together to connect, play padel, and have fun.”
To that end, he and his team have really hit the ground running, hosting numerous tournaments already (including one this past weekend) and Boston’s first Inter-University Padel Tournament on February 7th and 8th.
Or If You’d Rather Play Outdoors…
About a mile due north of PADELHUB, you’ll find Ballers Boston Seaport and its three seasonal outdoor Favaretti padel courts. In addition to padel, this second Ballers location (the first having opened last September in Philadelphia) also features a seasonal ice-skating rink, five seasonal pickleball courts, and private heated igloos where four to six people can dine and drink al fresco all winter long.
In a recent interview with MassLive, Ballers Boston Seaport’s club manager, Leonardo Justus, remarked:
“The community is very excited for a new sport. We are building a wellness center for people that want to be outdoors. That’s sort of our motto. We want Ballers to become a lifestyle.”
Given the ongoing monster snowstorm and general frigidness of Boston winters, it’ll likely be another couple months before the Ballers’ padel courts see any action, but when they do open in the spring you can book a court for $160/hour during peak times and $100 during off-peak via Playbypoint.
The venue also offers luxe seating, lounge, and spectating areas… a fully stocked pro shop… lessons, clinics, tournament and league play, on-site changing rooms and bathrooms, as well as numerous eating and drinking options.
What’s more, given that Ballers is heavily backed by high-profile pro athletes and investors including tennis legends like Andre Agassi, Sloane Stephens, and Kim Clijsters, NFL standouts like Malcolm Jenkins, and Philadelphia 76ers (of the NBA) owner David Blitzer, it’s a safe bet Ballers will play host to many star-studded, celebrity fueled padel events going forward.
Hans Helmers, a Padel Nation guest author and partner at InvestTrek Capital, who is also a Ballers investor, tells me:
“Ballers is already making a big splash in Philadelphia, and we are excited about another iconic urban location in Boston. This will no doubt accelerate padel awareness and growth in New England.”
I can’t argue there. For Boston to go from having zero courts… to seven courts a decent drive from the city… to sixteen courts and counting — both indoor and outdoor and easily accessible to players across the metro area — all in just a few short years is a pretty big deal. And I can only imagine it will help padel further explode across this sports-crazed region.
Agree? Disagree? Know of other New England padel courts and clubs that should be on our U.S. padel radar? Let us know in the comments below!
You can visit PADELHUB at 653 Summer St, Boston, MA 02210. You can email them here or book a court via Playbypoint here.
You can visit Ballers Boston Seaport at 25 Pier 4 Blvd., Boston, MA 02210. You can email them here or book a court via Playbypoint here.
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It's exciting to see this growth in the land of the Pickleball. And really great quality courts and facilities. That should stand the sport in good stead in the long run.