Padel “opening new doors” for Loughborough

Introducing padel courts can enhance a university’s sports facilities and improve student satisfaction by offering a sport that appeals to all ages and abilities.

One university which has introduced padel on campus through an operator-led approach is Loughborough University, which agreed a partnership with Soul Padel in March this year. Soul Padel invested £150,000 to construct two courts and a clubhouse, as well as recruiting a team of students to run the facility and its programmes. In return, Loughborough gave the operator the campus site rent-free. Once Soul Padel recovers its costs, the partners will enter into a revenue share agreement.

“The higher education sector has seriously woken up to the benefits of padel,” said Soul Padel founder, Mark Hewlett.