While there are dozens of things people probably associate with Minnesota — lakes, forests, lumberjacks, ice hockey, blue oxes, and Golden Gophers — padel is almost certainly not one of them. That’s why I was so intrigued to chat with Sheldon Vaz of The Heights Racquet & Social Club in Mendota Heights, MN (just a few miles south of the Twin Cities), which I believe may well be the most unique padel club in the U.S.
Granted, I know that’s a somewhat bold — and possibly controversial — statement.
Especially considering that, here in the U.S., we now have padel clubs opening inside of old, abandoned power plants (like Padel Plant in Richmond, VA and Ballers in Philly)… next to seaplane bases with stunning skyline views and in ultra-chic fashion districts (like Reserve in Miami)… and soon, even floating out over the water next to yachts (like Ultra Padel Club’s new project in Miami).
But, as you’ll discover, I have my reasons…
My Pre-Pandemic Connection to the Post-Pandemic Padel Boom in the Land of 10,000 Lakes
Like so many other people out there, I imagine I’ll never forget where I was and what I was doing just before the entire world shut down in mid-March 2020. In my case, I was playing in (or, more accurately, losing my way through) the first — and only — U.S. National Squash Doubles Championships I’ve ever competed in, which were held in the Twin Cities that year.
Things were already getting weird. On the plane, at the airport, at the hotel, in the locker room, and on court. And then on my second to last night, they got even weirder — but this time in a good way.
You see, to add insult to injury, as a result of having lost in the main draw, my partner and I were forced to leave the stately Minneapolis Club and Uber about 15 minutes over to a quiet residential neighborhood in St. Paul for our 10 p.m. (yes, 10 p.m.) consolation match.
When we arrived at a vaguely gothic-looking brick apartment building with a lively bar and restaurant occupying the first floor, I assumed we’d typed in the wrong address. But after five to 10 minutes of wondering around completely confused, I finally saw someone disappear around the far corner of the building with squash rackets in tow. So, we quickly followed him through an unmarked side door around back.
And thus I was introduced to the quirky, weird, wonderful world of The Commodore Squash Club.
The place looked like a fraternity house from the late 1970s that just so happened to have a couple squash courts attached to it. There were multiple freestanding kegs of beer. The carpet was of a forest green shag varietal. There was a snooker table (no, not pool, snooker) — and even a piano, for good measure.
The blue-mirror-backed bar was lined with old vinyl records, one of which was slowly revolving on a turntable as a funky reggae tune seeped out of some vintage wood-paneled speakers in the corner. The walls were covered with huge gold-lame-lettered plaques listing club champions from decades past. And there were dozens, if not hundreds, of trophies and old photos of squash legends like Hashim Khan on every other possible surface.
I’m not sure if was the reassuring feeling of seeing squash legends like Mike Puertas (now of Padel+Pickle fame) standing around chatting in an ultra-relaxed manner, or people casually pouring themselves keg beers, or the familiar “thwack” of squash balls in the background serving as a soundtrack to it all, but for a few hours, I completely forgot the world was on the verge of ending.
And I was in heaven.
The Second Coming
Sadly, that was the only time I ever got to visit the Commodore Squash Club. Then, a few years after the pandemic, I learned their long-time pro, Jeff Mulligan, had been let go and the club would soon be closing. I was bummed to hear it, to say the least.
But then not too long after that, someone mentioned that a new padel (and pickleball) club was opening in the Twin Cities that would also have singles and doubles squash courts (which is a real rarity these days), and I knew there must be a connection. So, I decided to dig in.
As I discovered (largely from an article I found in Twin Cities Business), my hunch was about the connection to the Commodore Squash club was 100% correct.
In fact, when the owner of the Commodore put the building up for sale and threatened to leave its 100 or so members without anywhere to play squash, one of them decided to do whatever it took to save their community.
So, Chris Hilger — who serves as the CEO of Securian Financial, a company that manages well over $70 billion in assets — set out to find somewhere else the former Commodore crew could set up shop. And along with with the help of two friends and fellow squash players Glenn Baron, a real estate investor, and John Lonnquist, an investment banker, he eventually managed to do just that.
As it turns out, the trio didn’t need to look far their ideal location — though it took them awhile to realize it.
Eventually, after unsuccessfully scouring the area for a suitable location (high ceilings, plenty of parking, and an adjacent outdoor area), it occurred to them that the warehouse where Baron’s former business, Lancer Hospitality, had been headquartered had everything they were looking for. As an added bonus, Baron already owned it.
“A Very Strong Commodore Connection”
That’s how Sheldon Vaz, the incredibly affable General Manager of The Heights describes the new multi-racket-sport club he manages.
Vaz, who grew up in Nairobi, Kenya, also tells me his Dad was a squash player, and while he dabbled a bit with the sport in his youth, he was always more of a team-sports player.
Eventually he moved to the U.S. to attend the University of Minnesota. Then one thing led to another and the Twin Cities became his permanent home.
He recalls, “A few years [after I moved here], one of my friends who also grew up in Nairobi — but was much more serious about squash from a young age and kept playing his entire life — kept asking me to come try squash.” He jokingly adds, “The bigger my belly started to get, the more he asked.”
Vaz finally gave in to his friend’s repeated requests, telling me, “I ended up going to the Commodore for a Tuesday night round-robin. As soon as I walked in, I felt right at home. People embraced me and it instantly became my home away from home. That was true for everyone there — and that was 13 or 14 years ago now.”
You Can’t Go Home Again — Or Can You?
Vaz confimed what i’d already read. Shortly after the pandemic the owner of the Commodore Squash Club and condo building it was housed in put the entire building up for sale.
He goes on to tell me, “The chances of coming in and buying it and keeping it as an active squash club were zero to none. So we all started thinking, ‘What do we do if this happens?'” And while he notes there are other squash clubs in the Twin Cities areas, none of them would ever have the same unique vibe and sense of community that the Commodore did.
So, the community of 90 or so members just came together, packed up their vibe, and moved it to a home about 10 miles south. But Vaz is quick to admit they knew it had to be much more than just a squash club.
“Squash was the crux. We were all squash players, and we wanted to keep playing squash. But we knew the squash community was aging and dwindling in Minnesota, so we were looking for fresh blood and fresh players. Over the past four years or so, pickleball had obviously taken off like a rocket ship, so we knew he had to have pickleball,” he explains.
He continues, “But then, we had a couple guys who regularly traveled to Europe and a couple guys who were from Mexico. And they all knew that padel was what was next in racket sports. So, we started exploring the idea of bringing the first-ever padel court to Minnesota.”
The New “North Star“
While The Heights originally opened with just one indoor padel court, Vaz explains that they initially purchased three to save on shipping costs from Europe.
He tells me, “We built the first court when we opened in December — and it immediately took off. So, then we went ahead and built the second court. And we have the third one on deck, and are ready to build it. So, that’s pretty much how squash, padel, and pickleball all came together in this big warehouse in Minnesota.”
As I point out to Vaz, except for a small handful of old-line private country clubs in the Northeast, to my knowledge, so far, The Heights is the only publicly accessible club in the U.S. — and entire world — to offer padel.. pickleball.. and both singles and doubles squash. (Though, I believe Ballers in Philly may soon be the second.)
When I ask Vaz how the members have taken to padel, he tells me, “Well, we have quite a few squash players — some singles players and some doubles players — who keep trying to play squash, but their bodies keep breaking down. And they have just taken to padel like ducks to water. They love it. And we’ve now actually lost squash players to padel.”
In fact, residents of the Twin Cities are taking to the world’s fastest growing sport so quickly that it even caught the attention of a local FOX news station who ended up producing an entire segment on padel at The Heights for Good Morning America earlier this year.
Building for the Future
Vaz says that while they are happy to already have well over 300 members at The Heights they are hoping to expand that by another 100 to 150 or more through the fall.
“From day one, we’ve never stopped expanding. We’re adding two outdoor pickleball courts, we’ll be adding a third padel court. Eventually we’ll have six pickle — four indoors, two outdoors… three padel — all indoors… and three singles squash and a doubles squash court,” he proudly tells me.
When Vaz further tells me that for just $185 per month you get unlimited court time all month, plus access to a gym, locker room with sauna, and all the social facilities, I tell him I may have to seriously consider moving to the Minneapolis area — or at least start spending my summers there.
Something tells me if The Heights has even a fraction of the personality that its Commodore predecessor possessed, I would feel right at home at the most unique padel club in the U.S.
You can visit The Heights Racquet & Social Club daily from 6am to 11pm at 1415 Mendota Heights Rd Suite 100, Mendota Heights, MN 55120. For more information and updates, be sure to visit their site or follow them on Instagram.
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