OPINION: Bay Padel opens, bringing racket sport to downtown San Jose
SAN JOSE - Bay Padel San Jose opened its doors to the public for the first time, bringing a fast-expanding racket sport to the city's downtown.
The venue hosted tournaments, lesson-seeking enthusiasts and other fans as part of a soft opening on July 11. A grand opening will be held on Sept. 12.
It is near the SAP Center and Diridon train station with an entrance on South Montgomery Street near the light rail tracks, although the official address is 87 Barack Obama Blvd.
At 28,000 square feet, Bay Padel San Jose contains six courts, and offers food and beverages, a recovery area and a sauna room. People will be able to book private lessons and schedule private games.
Its opening marks the latest venture to join the Google-created Creekside Socials community and sports district that the tech company established as a way to help activate the western edges of downtown.
"We are having a great turnout and we are very busy," said Lucas Tepman, co-owner of Bay Padel. "We hosted three tournaments for beginners, intermediate, and advanced players, and they were all full."
About 350 people came out to the venue as of midday July 11, Tepman estimated.
"We're seeing good crowds," said Matias Gandulfo, co-founder of Bay Padel. "We're seeing a lot of people new to the sport who have never played."
Padel is enjoying dramatic growth in the U.S. and worldwide. As of April 15, more than 1 million people were playing on more than 1,000 courts, according to a post by Mike Dorfman, chief executive officer of Padel Pro League. Both those numbers were around zero in 2022, when the 10-team Pro Padel League was founded.
That nationwide enthusiasm appears to be taking root in San Jose at the Bay Padel venue.
"Besides the tournaments, we offered an intro to padel," said Pedro Zorraquin, vice president of growth for Bay Padel. "We had about 70 people sign up for those" as of the middle of the day on Saturday.
Hapa's Brewing Company, a beer garden a couple of doors away, offered pop-up refreshments and food, according to Gandulfo and Tepman.
"We think we have an amazing location in Creekside Socials," Zorraquin said. "It is so close to the Caltrain station. It's pretty exciting."
More activation could be in the works for Creekside Socials as a result of a recent real estate deal involving the San Jose Sharks and Google.
On July 10, an affiliate of the Sharks NHL hockey team paid $10 million for an office building at 450 West Santa Clara St. that the team will use as its permanent headquarters across the street from the SAP Center.
A standalone Sharks headquarters next to Creekside Socials could further bolster the activities in the sports district and outdoor community.
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