Introducing padel courts can enhance a university’s sports facilities and improve student satisfaction by offering a social and inclusive sport that appeals to students of 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 two partners will enter into a revenue share agreement.

“The higher education sector has seriously woken up to the potential benefits of padel, but they’ve struggled with how to build and operate them,” says Soul Padel founder, Mark Hewlett. “We’re looking to roll out our model with other universities soon.

“Universities are increasingly looking for new ways to enhance student experience, encourage participation in sport, and maximise the use of their facilities. Padel’s fast, social, and accessible nature makes it an ideal addition to university campuses, appealing to students of all abilities.”

The advantage of Loughborough as a test bed for Soul Padel is its worldwide reputation as a specialist sports university. Their students are as ‘sporty’ as any other higher education establishment on the planet, so there was a captive audience from the start.

The engagement levels are high not just within the student population but with the locals that live close by, too. Community use is particularly strong in the morning.

The university holidays have seen high court utilisation from the internal uni staff and from the national governing bodies and other tenants that are based on campus, such as the England and Wales Cricket Board, British Athletics, British Swimming, England Netball and the Youth Sport Trust.