Four, brand-new padel courts have been installed by the council. They will be operated by Game4Padel and are now open for bookings to the general public via Game4Padel.com.
An open day with Game4Padel coaches will take place on Saturday, January 11, 2025 at the courts, offering free introduction sessions from 10am till 5pm. All bookings for the open day can also be made via Game4Padel.com
Padel is the world’s fastest growing sport, played in more than 130 countries by an estimated 25 million people. Demand for the sport is high in the UK where there are currently only 500 courts. Game4Padel, the UK’s leading padel operator, will be opening three more covered courts in Brighton & Hove in partnership with the council and Freedom Leisure at Withdean Sports Complex early next year.
The council’s Hove Beach Park regeneration project is reinvigorating the underused facilities and green spaces on the seafront in West Hove by creating a new park stretching from Hove Lagoon to the King Alfred Leisure Centre. Predominantly funded by the UK government, the park will be formally opened in spring 2025.
Game4Padel will also manage the stunning new tennis facilities at the site – which are due to open soon – facilitating bookings, running coaching for all ages and abilities and ensuring the tennis and padel facilities are well used by building a thriving, racket sport community in the area.
Councillor Julie Cattell, Lead Member for Major Projects, said: “Padel is a fast-growing sport and I’m sure these exciting new facilities will be really popular.
“With the tennis courts due to be finished shortly, plus bowls, croquet, skating, skateboarding, BMX and sand sports, Hove Beach Park will offer sports and leisure facilities for all ages and abilities, transforming this previously under used stretch of the Hove seafront.”
Game4Padel CEO Michael Gradon added: “We are delighted to be opening the new courts at Hove Beach Park. We have built a thriving padel community at Withdean and look forward to welcoming some of those players down here, as well as introducing a whole new community to this fun, inclusive and highly sociable sport.
"Over the past few months, we have been excited by the fact that so many passers-by have been telling us how keen they are to try padel when the courts open.”