Jack Edmonds, Secretary of Shorts Recreation and Sports Club, and Pete Boyle of Let’s Go Padel
With over 30 million padel players worldwide, the sport is booming (Pic: Getty)
Belfast could be set for eight new padel courts, as a local entrepreneur has applied for planning permission at a sports club.
Let’s Go Padel, a firm owned by Pete Boyle, is planning the development on a disused bowling green at the Shorts Sports and Recreation Club on the Holywood Road.
Padel — a cross between tennis and squash that is played with a short racquet — is a fast-growing sport both in Northern Ireland and across the UK, and multiple courts have been opened around NI in recent years.
Mr Boyle, who also founded jewellery brand Argento and water park Let’s Go Hydro, announced the founding of his padel venture in March.
The east Belfast development is the first to be made by the new company, which is also considering other sites across NI.
Mr Boyle said: “I am very excited about padel and the opportunities it brings for people of all ages and abilities to play an exciting new sport here in Northern Ireland.
“It has grown very rapidly around the world and our aim is to make Let’s Go Padel the leading provider here in Northern Ireland.
“We have signed a deal with Shorts Sports and Recreation Club and hope that other clubs and owners of under-used or abandoned sports and leisure facilities may come forward as a result.
“We are certainly interested in assessing other opportunities if the locations and costs are aligned.”
Jack Edmonds, secretary of the Shorts Sports and Recreation Club, added: “We are committed to providing high-quality sporting opportunities to our existing members and the new players and members padel will bring.
“This agreement gives us new resources to invest in our club and a major new capital investment from Let’s Go Padel. It is a win-win for all.
“We are very much looking forward to getting through the planning process and getting the courts opened as soon as possible.”