Building a padel complex with your friends is a dream come true. Antoine, Cyrille and Colin imagined it, and they did it!

This is the beautiful story of the day, that of the Hangar, a padel club in Reunion Island. A project designed and carried out by  Antoine, Cyril and Colin , three friends from racket sports who recently became padel fans.  Their goal, to create a club where you can play all year round without worrying about rain, wind or sun!  “It remained to find the most important in the success of a sports center project: the managers of the club, whom we wanted to be warm and friendly. Passionate and experienced people who animate the place and make players want to spend as much time as possible at the Hangar,” says Antoine. A project which seemed utopian but which will end up being carried out with the arrival of  Baptiste Maître, current padel champion of Reunion Island and Jean Nouaux, a specialist in sporting events . The Hangar team is then created.

Hangar Padel meeting track screen score

A rebirth for a building steeped in history  

The project has potential, the General Management and the teams of CBo Territoria notice it and see  the opportunity to revive a building  banner located at the entrance to the old sugar factory in the La Mare district. It is an old building, which closed its doors in 1981. At the time, around thirty people were manufacturing and storing bagapan. This building material, made from bagasse (residues from the extraction of sugar from cane), was marketed in the form of woody panels that served as partitions in many houses in Reunion in the 70s. "We are happy to unite the modernity of a new generation sport with the history of a building that has lived with generations of Reunionese for 50 years, which makes this club unique in its kind", rejoices Antoine.  An old hangar, full of history but which above all has a space of 1500m2: ideal for building a padel complex! 

A substantial evolution

The club has recorded more than  1000 players registered on the Hangar Application . This application has been a real development asset. It allows players to book directly on their phone, find partners, register for competitions or even buy equipment in the proshop.  The club has decided to focus on women with the creation of a women's division.  He counts today  20 players who regularly come to train The Hangar also plans to introduce young people to padel with  the creation of a padel school  et  a center of hope for young talents . Today, a few young people aged 18 to 25 come to train at the club, but a project of actions directed with town halls and schools to set up special offers for students could help attract even more young people. .

 The club organized more than 20 FFT tournaments over the year,  with a circuit of ten P25s, four P500s, a Master and a few P100s/P250s. The Hangar is constantly animated. The club launched the  “Domingos” , an event that takes place every Sunday, with a friendly format that  can be summed up in three words: Padel, Food and Music.  “In our club concept, we imagined both the sporting and social aspects, and that's why people like to meet at the Hangar for a drink or work on a corner of the table. It is a place of life before being a sporting place”. During holiday periods, courses are offered on the application to allow players to progress quickly over a week.

Digital at the heart of the Hangar

Hangar Padel Score screen meeting
Hangar Padel Camera meeting

 The Hangar Application offers players a complete service . Reservation of pitches, creation of matches, an e-commerce site, everything goes.  Recently, the club set up a live video recording system, thanks to NGTV . Players will be able to follow and review their points after matches, this tool will allow coaches to analyze and correct private sessions, but also to broadcast matches during tournaments. “The coaching sessions using the NGTV tool with our partner SFR,  this is a first in Reunion.  This will allow players to review their lessons and identify areas for improvement live with their coaches,” adds Antoine.

Projects for 2023 

The Hangar wants to continue its momentum and offer the best possible padel experience. Developments at the club are planned with the creation of several seats to watch tournaments, but also the development of areas for players. The club also wants to collaborate with other clubs to develop padel with the league, with the aim of creating events in Reunion Island in the future and attracting the best players.

“The climate is magnificent in Reunion, but it can also be sometimes intense and capricious, between sun, rain and wind. So much so that it is sometimes difficult to maintain a game in the best outdoor playing conditions. The structure therefore makes it possible to play in any weather, all year round and the children can enjoy the place in complete safety.  We promote padel for all and mix levels  », concludes Antoine!

Vincent Gallie

A fan of oval ball, round ball and also racket sports, he was bitten by padel during his adolescence in Galicia. As comfortable in front of the camera as behind a microphone, Vince will be able to bring his vision and expertise as a passionate fan of the little yellow ball.

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