We told you recently, the number of tracks of padel will more than double in a few months in southern Alsace. After the addition of two new indoor courts at 4Padel of Wittenheim, historical player in the padel in the Mulhouse region, a new club is emerging in Mulhouse itself.

“New” club of padel but a true temple of racket sports, the Squash 3000 has historically been devoted to squash and tennis since the early 1980s. Badminton was added later, with today nine courts in this complex which also offers a popular restaurant and a 42-room hotel.

A historic turning point for the Squash 3000

Little by little, the Rohmer family – father Christophe and son Nicolas – who manage the Squash 3000 understood that they could not miss the explosion of our sport.

“We have been talking about the padel, admits Nicolas Rohmer. More and more players are telling us that they are switching to padel. We noticed that the development of the number of practitioners was exponential and we obviously calculated that the rental would be profitable, with four players on 200 m². But it took us a little time to take this historic turn for us and to give up tennis, which had been present here since 1981. At the start, we had clay courts outside the location of our current parking lot. Then we had two carpeted courts. Tennis was close to our hearts: my father is a tennis teacher, he and I were immersed in it so we were attached to it and our clients too. »

Development of new land Padel at Squash 3000 in Mulhouse on June 26, 2023.
The work in progress Photo Jean François Frey

After having already given up one of the tennis courts in 2020 to enlarge the restaurant's kitchen, the Rohmer family decided to sacrifice the second, whose 1988 carpet was at the end of its life.

Unprecedented in the east: a single pitch

Other carpets, sandblasted and blue, are being fitted at the end of June and will adjoin the nine badminton courts in this room of more than 1800 m². By July 5, Squash 3000 will have three lanes padel brand new: two classics and – unprecedented in the whole of eastern France – a “single” field. The latter, with a width of 6 meters, instead of 10 for a classic track, will allow two to play or to train at a lower cost by doing ranges.

Nicolas Rohmer and Thierry Jung before work begins

The site was entrusted to a German company, which also manufactures squash courts: CourtTech. “We had technical constraints, with a maximum weight allowed of 250 kg per square meter on the slab, explains Thierry Jung, both technical adviser to the Squash 3000 and president of the Mulhouse squash club. In the angles, the weight of a ground of padel reaches 240 kg per square meter and 180 kg at window level. In addition, there are six tonnes of carpet and sand for the playing surfaces.

Any mistake would have been tragic

It was therefore necessary to give up too heavy machinery to bring in the 50 panes of 180 kg necessary for the construction of the three tracks. They were transported one by one, with a suction cup machine and the strength of the biceps... Then, it was necessary to avoid storing them in the same place to preserve the slab. Any mistake would have been tragic, knowing that the floor below houses the squash club!

The next step is the opening of the facilities to players, within a big week. The latter will be able to benefit from a comfortable ceiling height, between 9 and 11 m. As for the prices, they will remain reasonable, around forty euros per track for 1h30 of play.

At the beginning of July the grounds are almost completed

After 40 years of tennis, Jérôme falls into the pot of padel in 2018. Since then, he thinks about it every morning while shaving… but never shaves pala in hand! Journalist in Alsace, he has no other ambition than to share his passion with you, whether you speak French, Italian, Spanish or English.

On the same subject

Tags