Gloucester Quays Retail Park serves up padel concept for city debut

The Padel Club has launched at Gloucester Quays Retail Park, bringing the fast-growing sport to an indoor venue in the city for the first time.

The operator invested £1m to create the 43,577 sq ft venue, which includes nine courts with LED lighting, as well as a wellness-focused restaurant and bar.

Padel is a form of tennis played in an enclosed space about a third the size of a typical court, and is the fastest growing sport in the world.

The Padel Club’s launch looks to broaden the leisure offer within Gloucester, and support the evolution of the tenant mix within the retail park as well as the adjacent Gloucester Quays outlet centre.

Mark Whittaker, managing director at scheme owner Peel Retail & Leisure, said: “The popularity of padel has risen exponentially, and no doubt there will be plenty of people that live in, work in, or visit Gloucester that love the sport. Operators like The Padel Club will have had lots of options in the region for opening a new venue, so we wanted to make sure this is something we could bring to the city before anyone else. Gloucester Quays Retail Park, by virtue of its location, accessibility, and connection to Gloucester Quays outlet next door, is a perfect location for padel, and having it here will benefit the millions of visitors we already have each year while also appealing to a completely new clientele.”

The Padel Club provides an option for visitors to both Gloucester Quays Retail Park as well as Gloucester Quays, which is repositioning its tenant mix to include more leisure. The opening also represents the second time Peel has worked with the operator, which is set to open an 11-court venue at TraffordCity later this year.