As we initially reported back in early October — and everyone from The Chicago Business Journal to The Chicago Tribune has also taken note of — the padel bug is about to hit Chicago in a major way as several new padel clubs are set to open all around the Windy City in the new year.
As both the Business Journal and Tribune noted, this is thanks in no small part to the efforts of Abigail McCullough and her soon-to-open padel club Alma Padel on Chicago’s North Shore.
However, Alma Padel is actually just one of three publicly accessible padel clubs in Chicago that plans to opens its doors for play in early 2025. The other two being Cube Padel — which also has an original Houston location — and Union Padel. (The private Saddle & Cycle Club also added a court earlier this year).
Of course, the first club to open in the state was Padel Clube, in the far northern Chicago suburb of Mundelein, IL, which has now been up and running for a few years (and couldn’t have been more gracious hosts when I had the chance to visit in August of 2023).
In addition to Padel Clube, you’ll soon have Alma Padel opening a four-court indoor facility in Glenview, IL, which will also feature two bars, a café, pro shop, game room, locker rooms, and indoor/outdoor lounge areas and event spaces. (McCulloch notes two more courts may be added at a later date as well).
Then there’s Cube Padel, which according to their Instagram page will host the grand opening of their indoor South Chicago location on Saturday, January 11, and offer, “free snacks, drinks, and open matches for everyone.”
Finally, there’s Union Padel, which just unveiled the official name of their club yesterday via LinkedIn, and will be a five-court indoor facility in the West Loop, just outside the Fulton Market District.
According to Union Padel, they will also offer, “a variety of upscale amenities designed to enhance the sporting experience” and “aim to bring the excitement and community spirit of padel to the city, creating a premier destination for players of all ages and skill levels.”
Beyond these three soon-to-open Chicago padel clubs, it’s also worth noting that a $4.2 million, 50,000 square foot project — dubbed Club Pickle and Padel — will soon bring 10 pickleball courts and four padel courts to a domed public facility in Highland Park. But, based on a recent update from the Park District of Highland Park it looks like the facility likely won’t open until sometime later in 2025.
Last but certainly not least, there’s the ambitious project from Alex Vainberg known as Proximo Padel, which will be located in Northbrook and likely feature seven padel courts and six pickleball courts when the club opens in late 2025 or early 2026. Proximo will also offer a juice bar, pro shop, showers, a lounge and café area.
Combine all of this with the fact that the PSA Squash Tour just unveiled that Project Beacon is bringing the first outdoor public squash court in the U.S. to Chicago’s Union Park next spring, and it looks like the Windy City has a very bright racket-sports future ahead of it, indeed.
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