Pierrick Bihoue, President of the Ultra group, returns during the Cupra stage Padel Point Tour in Cap Esterel at the microphone of Alice de Caunes, on her adventure in padel, the difficulties, but also the joys and the 2023 projects.

8 years ago, the beginning of the “Ultra adventure”

I have been a tennis instructor for almost 8 years. When padel first appeared, I was won over by its fun aspect and ease of teaching. It is a sport that is learned more quickly, and it seemed obvious to me that society would like it, not as a replacement for tennis, but in parallel.

I started with a track in a club and witnessed the growing popularity of this sport. Subsequently, I contributed to the installation of more pitches in the clubs of the Ultra group.

Financing and construction challenges

The first time I approached the subject with a bank, they confused padel with stand-up paddle. At first, it was complicated. I was lucky to find a local bank that already knew about padel and believed in our project.

Today, it is simpler, because the town halls know this sport. There has been a clear evolution in recent years. There were many challenges, especially with the often Spanish manufacturers, and administrative problems such as VAT.

Building a padel court may seem easy, but there are many details to consider such as the type of terrain, the need to make stringers or slopes, etc. Experience teaches you these things. At first, mistakes are made by choosing the cheapest options, mistakes that new players in this field will make today.

ultra padel
pierre bihous clay padel
pierre bihoue ultra padel tennis

Expansion and company philosophy

Ultra works in 9 centers, and the idea is to implement padel in all the centers. We are already at 16 tracks and we plan to have 21 padel tracks by 2023.

Our goal is to seize opportunities, mainly in the Alpes-Maritimes and the Var. We want to stay close to our customers and get to know them, not just rent tracks. Our slogan is “Family spirit”, and we want to create a family atmosphere, bringing parents and children together in real sharing.

Padel, a new El Dorado?

But all this is not done at any price. Many people see padel as a new El Dorado in the world of sport. It is not that simple. It is necessary to find locations where rents and construction costs are not too high to be able to offer attractive rates in the face of very competitive municipal projects.

In summary, padel is an exciting sport with great growth potential, but like any entrepreneurial project, it presents challenges and requires a thoughtful and experienced approach.

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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