Padel is a hybrid of tennis and squash that has exploded in popularity
Will McGlade playing padel at House of Padel in Cookstown, Dublin. Photo: Sportsfile
Will McGlade, son of serial entrepreneur Paul McGlade who founded Champion Sports, is launching a premium sports and wellness venture in Dublin.
McGlade is set to launch House of Padel on July 12 in an industrial estate on the Old Belgard Road, near Tallaght. The facility will focus on the sport of padel – the hybrid of tennis and squash that has exploded in popularity around Europe.
‘It’s a really exciting time to be involved in padel’
The indoor facility will include four premium indoor courts and several member facilities.
Alongside the indoor padel courts, House of Padel will include a sauna, ice bath plunge pools, and a health food bar. The complex will also offer yoga and pilates classes to all levels.
Speaking with the Sunday Independent, managing director McGlade said he hoped to have five padel facilities established within the next five years.
“It’s a really exciting time to be involved in padel,” he said. “The interest – dare I say the obsession around this sport is growing exponentially.”
McGlade said he already had his eye on one facility in south Dublin that he could lease, which may progress “in the next three to four months.”
House of Padel will have one membership offering of €40 per month.
The venture is not McGlade’s first foray into the world of business.
In 2019, the Business Post reported that McGlade had launched HipHipStay, which was described as a “super-exclusive” new Airbnb-style platform.
McGlade said the regulations around short-term letting made the business difficult. He started looking at different business avenues, with padel coming to his attention.
McGlade still has a guest house on Lower Ormond Quay in Dublin, called Templebar Rooms. He said it was performing well.
Members of the McGlade family have been behind several successful firms, including Therapie Clinic and the Pygmalion bar in Dublin city centre.