The president of World Padel Tour gave an interview to Brand, concerning the management of the health situation. At the end of Master of Barcelona, ​​Ramon Agenjo establishes an observation of the organization of the tournament, and brings its enthusiastic vision of the growth of the padel.

The first tournament with limited attendance

“Last year, between 5 000 and 6 000 people were present at Sant Jordi. All the tickets had been sold and we were convinced we could beat that record. Unfortunately the health crisis has arrived. We have adopted more measures than those imposed. We were very demanding on the respect of barrier gestures. ”

“So we had to adapt. In Malaga, we were able to organize the tournament normally, in Madrid and Valencia we did it behind closed doors, and here in Barcelona we cannot not exceed the 30% of the accommodation capacity of the structure." 

Special playing conditions

“The players want to play. They need to be on the court. It's really weird to see this place so big, that we are used to seeing lots of… ”

The pandemic and the long term

“We can't know what's going to happen, but we can see it won't be a matter of a few weeks. We must be very careful with the commitments that we will be making in the coming months. We have already spoken with the cities and we have their support. No one can take a long-term view. We will follow the development of things, and we will adapt.

Ticket sales are lacking

“We obviously have a drop in revenue. We certainly have the receipts from the sponsors, from collaborations with the cities which help us for the event. But the impact is very important. The public eats in restaurants, in the village, buys merchandising… all this represents an accumulation of losses. ”

Positive in the crisis

“For us it is clear that WPT events must continue to grow. Behind there is Estrella damn, a company with 144 years of history. We have an incredible project, and a totally new and professional team, that goes beyond what one could imagine, I say it seriously. We are motivated and focused. ”

“Our company is 144 years old, and we are used to a lot of things. We have experienced episodes much bigger than this one. We went through the 4 wars. You have to see the positive side. Our team adapted so well that we learned things we didn't know. ”

“Today we are better. We were put to the test, and we were able to get out of the tunnel. ”

Le padel can he grow in this context?

"Of course. I am a fan of a lot of sports, but this is the best show there is. There is no show in the world in which for 21 weeks of the year the best players compete against each other in different places around the world. It does not exist. Here I saw impressive matches of young players who put the big totems of the padel. "

 

Source: Marca.com

From his names, we can guess his Spanish and Italian origins. Lorenzo is a multilingual passionate about sports: journalism by vocation and events by worship are his two legs. He is the international gentleman of Padel Magazine. You will often see it on the various international competitions, but also on the major French events. @eyeofpadel on Instagram to see his best photos of padel !

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