Pop-up, or temporary, padel courts are facilities designed to be set up and taken down quickly. They are becoming increasingly popular, especially for sporting events, festivals, or to test a community's interest in the sport before investing in permanent facilities. Here's a look at the pros and cons of these facilities:

5 positive points

  1.  Flexibility  : These courts can be installed in various places (parks, public squares, shopping centers) for a limited time, which allows to promote padel in places where there are no permanent courts.
  2.  Reduced cost  : Compared to building permanent fields, temporary fields are less expensive. They allow you to test the market and attract players without requiring a massive investment. However, there are some caveats, because installing the track can be very expensive depending on the site. Remember this incredible installation on an aircraft carrier...
  3.  Promotion of sport  : Pop-up courts are a great way to introduce padel to new areas, attracting public attention and potentially future players.
  4.  Easy assembly and disassembly  : They are designed to be quickly assembled and disassembled, allowing great mobility and rapid adaptation to the needs of the organizers.
  5.  Events and Marketing  : They are perfect for organizing one-off events, competitions or initiations, thus increasing the visibility of the sport.

During the Bordeaux P2, 4 temporary padel courts have been set up, one of which is dedicated solely to the public.

Premier Padel also offers promotional events around padel which are quite incredible, as is the case at Princes Park.

Don't hesitate to also watch this exceptional video:

5 negative points

  1.  Limited durability  : Being temporary, these grounds can be less robust than permanent installations. The materials used are often designed for short-term use. Also be careful when setting up these tracks outdoors, especially in places where there is a lot of wind...
  2.  Game quality  : The quality of the surface may be lower than that of a permanent court, which can affect the playing experience, especially for experienced players. For example, it takes a little time to compact the court properly. There are sometimes problems with the bounce or the structure on which the carpet rests…
  3.  Complex logistics  : Although assembly is relatively quick, the logistics around transport, installation and disassembly can be complex and costly, especially for large-scale events.
  4.  Environmental impact  : Repeated transport and assembly can have an environmental impact, particularly in terms of carbon footprint and resource consumption for temporary materials. So, of course, we don't always think about this point, especially since the assembly / disassembly of a padel court is linked to a specific request, but it is an element to take into account.
  5.  Limits of use  : These fields cannot generally be used for official competitions, because they may not meet the strict standards required for this type of event. Obviously, everything depends on the budgets because technically everything is possible. Especially since we are used to following professional events that use a temporary field for the central track. But depending on the country, administrative constraints can fluctuate.

To find out more, head to  the manufacturers directory.  

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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