On the occasion of the 11rd stage of the Cupra Padel Tour, at the club The Pala in Angers, the co-director Frederic Maucourt shares his vision and the specificities of the club with us.
It's much more than a padel club...
The common thread of our project was to build a paddle club quality, and I think we've done pretty well. We've six indoor padel courts with optimal playing conditions. We are also the only ones to Angers to offer bothindoor and outdoor on the same site.
We also have two tracks outside, in a very pleasant setting that gives the impression of being on holiday. This was really the heart of the project. Then, we wanted to offer a real gastronomic experience, which is why we opened a Italian bistro, open 7 days on 7, lunch and dinner, with dishes home made.
The idea was to marry the pleasure of the plate with that of the sports. We now have a team of 17 people, divided between the room, the kitchen and the sports activities. We have also integrated another sports activity that the players of paddle appreciate: the indoor golf. It's quite innovative on Angers and this strengthens the side user-friendly and pleasant club. These are the key words of our project.
When did the club open?
We opened in two phases, and it was a good idea given that the middle of the padel angevin was saturated. We organized a first opening for our padel hall, with our six tracks, 18th November. We are going to celebrate our first year soon! It was a simple opening, with a bar around the slopes, and we quickly managed to create a nice community of players coming from all walks of life.
Le paddle is really a racket sport which brings together, and we are very pleased with the development. We now have about 8000 people who have created an account on our application, and several indicators show that the tracks are very busy. The opening of the rest of the building, with the restaurant, to terrace and pergola, took place on March 18.
What other facilities have you opened during this second phase?
During this second phase, we also welcomed a osteopath, a pilates teacher, as well as access to locker rooms. We lived our first summer with these facilities, and we are really pleased with the results.
Can you give us some feedback on the Cupra day? Padel Tour today?
It was a very nice day with a impressive organization. There were a lot of people on the tracks and around, which was a nice surprise. Theanimation was great, with matches that followed one another well, and the arrival of the pro players added a special dimension. There were also entertainment for children, and we saw lots of smiles on the tracks. It was really very pleasant.
I discovered padel directly during a tournament, and frankly, I didn't really like it at first. But the second time, it was love at first sight, and since then, I haven't missed a single match. I'm even ready to stay up until 3am to watch a final of Premier Padel !