As we’ve discussed in several prior articles, despite seemingly having both the perfect climate and demographics for an all-out padel boom, save for a few courts at small clubs in Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona has largely been a “padel desert” of sorts up until now.
In fact, heading into 2025, somewhat off-the-beaten-path places like Mundelein, IL (outside Chicago)… Olivette, MO (outside St. Louis)… Parker, CO (outside Denver)… and Sterling Heights, MI (outside Detroit) were home to two, three, and sometimes even four times as many padel courts as the entire state of Arizona.
But that’s all changing very rapidly as we head into a new year…
For starters, as we recently reported, a new, high-end concept known as Conquer Padel has plans to bring a total of five clubs to the greater Phoenix area over the next few years, beginning with a five-court, indoor club in Tempe, followed by a nine-court outdoor, covered facility in North Phoenix.
Then there’s Padel Alley — which, as we highlighted in a recent feature, will soon be bringing eight outdoor padel courts (and four pickleball courts) to the Tucson area along with a terrace bar and cafe, luxury locker rooms, a fully stocked pro-shop, and plenty of parking.
Initially, it looked like Padel Alley would be the second padel venue in the area to open (the first being PadelAZ, a two-court indoor offering at the Maracana Indoor Sports Arena)…
But then The Pad Tucson caught many in the U.S. padel world by surprise with their recent Instagram announcement that their new facility, with its seven padel courts and nine pickleball courts, was already open for play as of January 25.
From Bloom to Boom?
According to The Pad Tucson’s homepage, “Our 9 Pickleball and 7 Padel courts are open and beautiful. We are finishing a few details in the bar and lobby.”
With this opening, the total number of (publicly accessible) padel courts in Arizona has more than tripled from three to 10. And when Padel Alley opens for play sometime in the next month or so, that number will almost double again to 18.
Combine that with the 14 additional courts that Conquer Padel plans to bring online with their first two club openings, and you’ll start to see that padel is finally starting to really bloom in the Arizona desert. And chances are this is likely only the beginning, so please be sure to stay tuned for more updates!
You can visit the newly opened Pad Tucson at 300 South Toole Avenue, Tucson, Arizona 85701 during their temporary opening hours of 4pm to 10pm (Mon – Fri), 8am to 10pm (Sat), and 8am to 3pm (Sun). If you have questions or would like to book a court, you can call them at (520) 372-2570.
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