A growing number of padel clubs in the U.S. are springing up in locations with stunning backdrops. These include Padel Haus’s Domino Park courts, which are built in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge and Manhattan skyline, and Reserve Miami’s courts which overlook Biscayne Bay and downtown’s soaring skyscrapers. And now you can add Park Padel’s Embarcadero Plaza courts in the heart of San Francisco to that list.
The just-opened facility features two state-of-the-art, panoramic pop-up courts from Italian-based Favaretti Padel and their US distributor, PADEL-LUX. Even better, the courts come complete with prime views of the entire Embarcadero and world-famous Ferry Building, which is now a gastronomic mecca thanks to the bustling food hall housed inside.
Players can rent or purchase rackets, merchandise, and other padel essentials at the club’s check-in area or enjoy beverages and other light refreshments in the lounge area before or after a match.
The club will also be offering a slate of programming including clinics, open play hours, and tournaments for all levels. Standard court fees will range between $28/hour per person (for members) and $40/hour per person (for non-members).
A “golden gate” to padel’s future success in the U.S.?
Park Padel, a women- and minority-owned business, is the brainchild of three friends, Jessica Talbert, Neil Chainani, and Katie Lampert, who fell in love with the global sports craze while traveling in Spain. In addition to their temporary location at the Embarcadero, they plan to open a permanent, six-court indoor padel facility in South San Francisco in spring 2024.
“Padel is an incredibly social sport and a great way to spend time with friends or coworkers. We have no doubt it will become San Francisco’s new favorite pastime,” Lampert says.
Of the project, Joe Gross, a partner at PADEL-LUX — who helped make Park Padel’s Embarcadero Plaza dream a reality — said, “We were deeply involved from very early on in the process. We even took the Park Padel team to Italy to see the various Favaretti courts we have to offer. It was a big endeavor and a real challenge, in large part because we didn’t just have to construct the courts, but also engineer a highly sophisticated platform to make court-building in this location possible in the first place.
But it was also very rewarding, because at the end of the day we’re not looking to just be another padel-court company, we’re looking to be a comprehensive padel-solutions company. And this project proved we can find — or develop — one for just about any challenge we encounter.”
Bradley Hoffman, another partner at PADEL-LUX, added, “It was definitely very challenging from a logistical standpoint. But this location is highly trafficked — both by locals and tourists from around the country and the world — and it’s definitely a spectacle that will draw a lot of attention to padel.”
While it appears we may have already been on the verge of a West Coast padel boom even before Park Padel debuted, San Francisco has always been on the bleeding edge of emerging American tastes and trends, and you can bet that the success of padel here would have major implications for the sport across the country as a whole.
Currently, Park Padel is open daily from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., with extended hours coming shortly. Furthermore, Park Padel has partnered with San Francisco Recreation & Parks to offer community free-play hours from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday, which can be booked 24 hours in advance, regardless of member status.
All court bookings can be made online or on the Park Padel app.
As the Park Padel website points out, you can, “Hit the ball off the glass, lob it high into the sky, or smash it over the wall. The court is your oyster. No wonder it’s the world’s fastest growing sport.” So, if you’re anywhere near the San Francisco Bay Area, be sure to stop by Embarcadero Plaza and give it a go — and enjoy the view while you’re at it!
