The centres will cater to a growing interest in the cross between tennis and squash
THREE more padel centres are coming to Cardiff to cater to a growing interest in the sport – and breathe new life into two empty venues.
Courts are being set up at Llandaff Bowling Green and the old Argos store in Cardiff Bay, as well as at the David Lloyd leisure centre in Penylan.
“It is really exciting that so many courts are coming to Cardiff. Everyone who plays it seems to enjoy it, it is very inclusive and very easy to get started,” said Frazer Richards, head of Cardiff Padel Community.
The space at Llandaff Bowling Green has not been used since Llandaff Croquet Club moved to Fairwater two years ago.
The Llandaff plan, approved in June 2024, includes six open padel courts, and a refurbished pavilion with a cafe, changing facilities and toilets.
The current padel centres in Cardiff are in blue with the proposed padel centres in red.
Coun Jennifer Burke, cabinet member for culture, parks and events said: “The exciting plans deliver substantial investment in the area’s community sports facilities and will help us achieve our aims of increasing participation in physical activity.”
Simon Champ, the chairman of Padeltastic Ltd said: “We are extremely excited to be working with Cardiff Council, Llandaff Cricket Club and Tennis Wales to deliver this exciting project.
“We look forward to bringing the excitement and fun of Padel Tennis, the UK’s fastest growing sport, to the people of Cardiff and bringing a new energy to Llandaff Fields.”
Another plan was approved for the old Argos store in Cardiff Bay retail park in October 2024. The building has been vacant since July 2023.
Padium, which owns a padel club in Canary Wharf, London, plans to build eight new courts, along with changing rooms, a cafe and a shop.
At the moment there are two places to play padel in Cardiff – Cardiff City House of Sport, in Grangetown, and Windsor Lawn Tennis Club in Penarth.
In these centres, Frazer Richards runs a free padel box league. “It is very beginner friendly. There are 12 leagues, and each one has four pairs. You can be really good or completely new, it doesn’t matter.
“It is all about meeting new people, I think a lot of people come to these sports and struggle to find someone to play with.”
Padel is like a combination of squash and tennis. “You play like tennis doubles, with a net, only that you have back and side walls,” said Mr Richards.
David Lloyd Leisure Club in Penylan has also applied to change its three tennis courts into five padel courts.
Simon Pearson, group racquets manager at David Lloyd Clubs, said: “We hear more and more from our members that they are interested in padel. With our expertise in racquet sports, it naturally made sense to invest in this exciting game and give our members the chance to discover a new passion.”
David Lloyd Clubs is planning on building 33 new courts across 14 UK clubs by the end of the year.
