As the San Francisco Business Times recently reported, a group of noteworthy investors including Major League Soccer (MLS) stars Sebastian Lletget (FC Dallas) and Jeremy Ebobisse (San Jose Earthquakes), as well as the Rohde and Boro-Hamilton family offices, just backed a $5 million seed raise by Park Padel.
This investment will primarily support Park Padel’s ongoing expansion in the Bay Area. This includes adding one additional padel court at its original Embarcadero Plaza location, the opening of its newest, flagship location at Oyster Point in South San Francisco — a six-court, indoor luxury facility — and the upcoming opening of its West Sacramento location, which will feature four outdoor courts.
Of this substantial investment, Park Padel Co-Founder and CEO Jessica Talbert remarked, “We are very lucky to have a highly engaged and supportive group of investors who are dedicated to bringing energetic and social spaces to California.
Padel is growing like wildfire – everyone who steps on the court falls in love. We saw amazing success with just two courts in Embarcadero to start, and this investment round will allow us to give thousands more interested in playing padel the opportunity to get out on a court in their area.”
Park Padel investor and FC Dallas midfielder, Sebastian Lleget, who was born in the Bay Area, added, “I invested in Park Padel because I believe in the sport’s incredible potential and the company’s mission to make it accessible and meaningful for communities everywhere.
Padel is more than a game, it’s a unique way to bring people together, and Park Padel’s commitment to quality and community building deeply resonated with me. Seeing them open a location in my hometown makes this partnership even more special.”
This Park Padel investment by MLS stars follows the opening of La Casa del Padel outside Kansas City earlier this year by a group of current and former MLS players, as well as numerous other padel clubs around the country which are now backed by former superstar athletes.
And given the explosive growth of padel in the U.S. from coast to coast, it’s a safe bet that we’ll see plenty more pro athletes and celebrities backing new padel ventures going forward.
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