Interview with a group of friends who decided to participate in the development of padel in Auvergne by joining forces with the public sector!

An original concept

“In 2020, the four of us discovered padel, a sport that was becoming known in Clermont-Ferrand. We wanted to participate in its growth, and so we had the idea of ​​proposing to a town hall in a small, well-located country town to rehabilitate a tennis court that had been abandoned for over 20 years. The elected officials were immediately enthusiastic. So we worked on it and invented a concept of a 100% autonomous court: booking online allows you to access the court, get a free loan of equipment on site and even activate the lighting to play in the evening.”

Access Padel

“The project took shape with an agreement signed with the town hall. It required a lot of work on our part: cleaning, earthworks, stabilization and patching of the existing porous concrete slab, landscaping, etc…”

The expansion continues!

“Our first track therefore opens in September 2021 in Malauzat (63). After a successful first season in 2022, we immediately worked on a second project with a bigger municipality but still with the same enthusiasm. We have refined our model, and opened a second track, in the town of Lempdes (63), inaugurated on April 28th.

The Access community Padel continues to grow with to date more than 250 registered on our booking platform. We also offer group lesson sessions once a week in season” (provided in particular by our star commentator Mario Cordero! -ndlr).

“We are already thinking about 2024 and want to open one or two new tracks in Puy-de-Dôme next year. Our concept is starting to be known, several municipalities have already contacted us this year to come and establish ourselves on their territory. »

A franchise project in progress

"Despite our current projects in other municipalities, we are aware that to have a real impact on the development of padel in Auvergne and in France, we must not just invest in our own fields but also support those who wish to do the same."  

Access padel logo

"We are currently working on a franchise project that will help players who want to invest in padel, and many of them are talking about it on the side of the slopes, negotiating with town halls, setting up their own independent court and operating it in a sustainable and profitable way."

Hopefully this will lead to the rescue of many abandoned lands and the construction of many padel courts!

Franck Binisti

Franck Binisti discovered padel at the Club des Pyramides in 2009 in the Paris region. Since then, padel has been part of his life. You often see him touring France to cover major French padel events.

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