by Carla Caruso

A startup business hopes to bring the sport of padel to Adelaide – and generate $500,000 in annual revenue – by fencing a site that might be located within your Park Lands.

The company, Padelaide, proposes repurposing so-called “underutilised greenfields or rundown tennis courts” for twin padel courts. The courts, fenced in glass and aluminium, would be housed in an inflatable tent enclosure to enable year-round use.

In Padelaide’s business plan, five potential locations for such a facility were suggested across metropolitan Adelaide, including Bullrush Park / Warnpangga (Park 10) – an “accessible location with existing sports infrastructure” – and Veale Park / Walyu Yarta (Park 21), “known for community recreation and ample space”.

Other possible locations put forward by the company were in Trinity Gardens, Aldinga, and Grange.

If this proposal were to be accepted by the City Council, it would require sacrificing some of your Park Lands for private profit, with fencing that would allow access only to paying customers.

The company’s business plan says income from the site would be generated through court rentals, club memberships, tournaments and events, corporate packages, and ancillary services (including merchandise, equipment rentals, and refreshments).

Padel is a racket sport of Mexican origin, which has been described as a mix between tennis and squash. It’s typically played in doubles on an enclosed court, surrounded by walls of glass and metallic mesh.

The game is similar to another growing sport, pickleball, with the main difference between the two being that padel allows the ball to be played off the walls.

Celebrity fans of padel include singer Shakira, tennis identity Rafael Nadal, and soccer stars Cristiano Ronaldo and David Beckham.

Adelaide entrepreneur Safi Safieddin is behind the local proposal, along with fellow sports enthusiasts Elie Harb and Adam Karoum. The idea for the venture was sparked by their own love for the game.

Safi, who has a construction background, told the APA: “I’ve been playing padel for the past seven years, and it really grew in popularity back home in Lebanon where I’m from and where my friends are originally from.

“I can’t really live without it. So, I really want to open [the facility] here and just give [the sport] a bit of exposure to the public.”

His goal is to have a facility up-and-running in three months: “the only sticking point is [securing] the location”.

“We have the assembly [kit] for the padel courts already in our warehouses in Melbourne, so we’re just looking for a location to deploy them. That’s our next step.”

Two padel courts fit in the size of one tennis court, and according to Safi: “The whole structural [tent] enclosure is inflatable, but the padel court itself is made of glass and aluminium. If we’re doing it on a greenfield, we would just put some padding on the floor for a surface.”

However, if the facility was installed on an existing tennis court, there would be no need to modify the surface.

“We’d just have to remove the net and posts and then instate our own, because padel has special requirements and court dimensions,” Safi said.

“So, we’d retrofit it basically to suit the needs of padel, but it would not cause any disruption to the existing tennis court.

“Perhaps later down the line, if the council said, ‘Well, we need our tennis courts back’, we could disassemble ours in three days and return the court as it was. It’s not a permanent structure.”

The company’s business proposal, sent to the City Council, argues that Adelaide could mirror similar ventures in Melbourne and Sydney.

The plan also stated that eco-friendly amenities would be installed at the site, such as water refill stations to reduce plastic use, recycling bins, and solar-powered lighting.

The company is promising “community engagement” with programs including beginner sessions, youth camps, and corporate events.

“Our goal is to collaborate closely with the [relevant] council to ensure the project aligns with community interests and the strategic vision for Adelaide’s recreational spaces,” Safi said.

Main photo (top): Park Sports.