South Padel – Top start this April 1st: come and play for free!

The Montpellier region has a new structure of padel from April 1, 2023: South Padel , an ambitious family project with 4 tracks of padel 10 minutes from Montpellier.

William Codron, one of the founders of the club, returns for Padel Magazine on the birth of this club and its objectives.

Padel, family and more…

This club was built as a family, it's a family story for families, but not only...

My father Marc, the president of the club, has always done a lot of sport: football, tennis, marathons. He subsequently set about padel thanks to my little brother Clément who was a tennis teacher at the time. From now on, he is the coach of South Padel.

Clément embarked on the padel in 2020/2021 during the Covid. And today, he is in the top 150 French.

It was a family dream to embark on a common project together. We had many ideas for this. And then while discussing, we realized that the padel, this very fashionable, fun and accessible sport was not such a bad idea. So we thought why not create a club of padel.

In Montpellier, it was still complicated to play. There were relatively few clubs at the time and the existing clubs were often full so my dad thought it was a good time.

From project to realization: already an adventure!

The idea began to germinate at the end of 2021. We then had to find land.

At the time, there was very little land to buy in the area, or else at exorbitant prices. We therefore headed towards a search for built land with available land.

And then one day, we came across the site: Écopark de Bel Air in Vailhauquès (34570).

It immediately fell in love with the field. The area was booming, just 10 minutes from the gates of Montpellier. It was also stuck to a neighborhood that housed many companies (Euromédecine).

For people who like to practice sport in good conditions, this is the ideal place. The atmosphere is superb, and the land is located in the middle of the Hérault pine forest. The place is very beautiful and it changes above all from the classic concrete activity areas.

Once the land was found, the project had to be validated by the lessor, the town hall and the community of municipalities. It was long and tedious work, but everyone wanted to see our project emerge from the ground. And today we are here !

Second stage: 9 tracks

The objective now is 9 tracks of padel. But the club will initially be composed of 4 tracks of padel outdoor.

This first year promises to be very important for us. The idea by the end of 2023 would be to see if we can move on to phase 2, that is to say, to have 4 to 5 tracks of padel additional.

We wanted to start as soon as possible with this first configuration.

In total, the final objective would be to have 8 to 9 tracks of padel : 5 outdoor and 4 indoor, ideally between 2024 and 2025.

Objective achieved: it starts on April 1

To start, the club has 4 tracks of padel panoramic including a central full panoramic with the official mondo Supercourt XN turf of the World Padel Tour. So these are the latest generation tracks that we have here.

The opening is scheduled for this April 1st and it's not an April fool! (laughs)

I would also like to thank Jérémy Scatena, one of the best French players and 100% Padel without whom we would not have been able to start on April 1st. They did an excellent job!

Also, for players who are fond of details, know that the club has personalized tracks.

Free all weekend

To launch South Padel, we offer throughout the weekend a free discovery offer for all.

The club house consisting of a snack area, a bar and a beer cellar will also be operational. We particularly favor the shops of the region.

The club house overlooks a 100 m2 terrace between the central track and track 4. It's incredible! The players will rush to this terrace.

Changing rooms will also be available this weekend.

Finally, players will be able to have access to a large Proshop of padel in the club of 30 m2.

Launch of internships padel

Internships padel for adults, as well as a school for padel from 4 to 18 years old will be available from the start of the school year in September.

Since we really want to promote the padel women, 100% women's tournaments and activities will also be organised. At the tournament level, we would like them to go from P25 to P1500.

We would also like to develop the handicappadel. All our premises respect the standards for this, in particular for players in wheelchairs.

Leisure and work, or how to combine business with pleasure

South Padel is above all a friendly place open to all.

Beyond the competitions and the classification, we strongly wish to develop this leisure and playful side of this sport by combining uphill / downhill and afterworks. Or that there are nocturnal tournaments and happy hours.

On the work side, we also want to develop offers for companies. For this, we have a very beautiful seminar room detached from the grounds, but above all very quiet.

There are many companies around us, so we need space in order to be able to work in good conditions. It is a perfect place to organize team building, work meetings, seminars or even business clubs.

Our next short-term ideas? Set up a warm-up area for players (bike, elliptical, rowing machine, etc.)

I think for the tournaments of padel, it's very important to prepare and stay warm between games.

There will also be a playroom for the kids, so no excuses for families. We are waiting for you at Sud Padel !

Eleonore Coulibaly

What a pleasure to be a journalist in the middle of the padel, an attractive growing sport. I hope you enjoy the content offered. See you soon perhaps on the slopes!