Fernando Belasteguin  inaugurated its first  White Padel Center  in Alicante. Its ambition is to open them in all European countries.  Vincent Laureyssens,  which is due to open one in Belgium and the Netherlands, explains the various projects to us.

Bela Padel Center in Belgium, Holland and Morocco?

 Padel Magazine : How did this padel academy project come about? Have you always done this? 

 Vincent Laureyssens:  “The academy project is Bela's. His idea is to have a Bela Padel Center, considered the best academy in the world, in each country.

He has just launched this first academy in Alicante. I am there for 4 days to discover the installations, to train myself, and to understand things well. Bela asked me to open one in  Belgium  and one in  Holland , and I also have the opportunity to do it at  Marrakech .

 The idea is to have at least one Bela Padel Center in each country . Large countries like France could have 2 or 3, like Spain!

We already have a place in Brussels, we are in the process of finalizing this. Bela will come in February or March to confirm the site and start the investments. ”

 Padel Magazine : How did you build this relationship between Bela and you? 

 Vincent Laureyssens:  “The relationship with Bela was built during the exhibition in 2018. We had a great contact: I invited him to the house to see the final of the FIFA World Cup. We never let go, we thought we were going to do things together. I worked on his BELA brand. He's become a friend, and we have lots of ideas. The Bela Academy is her baby, and in Alicante it's done really well.

This is what you need to do for padel:  create centers of excellence with the greatest player of all time. "

 Padel Magazine : You mentioned several clubs, can you say a little more about each club, and the number of pitches? 

 Vincent Laureyssens:  “Here in Alicante, the number of sites is specific to the territory. The weather is always nice, so there are 7 outdoor courts, 2 outdoor singles courts, and 5 indoor. Obviously in the North of Europe, we must work more on the inside.

The idea in  Belgium  is to have  10 to 12 indoor courts, and 6 to 8 outdoor . In the South of France or in Italy we can afford to have more outdoors than indoors. It depends on the geographical area. ”

 Padel Magazine : When is the opening scheduled? Will we have other Bela clubs? 

 Vincent Laureyssens:  “Bela's first project Padel Center concerning me is that of Brussels. We are on a project that Bela will have to validate when she comes. He has, a priori, already validated the place but he must come and visit it. We still have to see some formalities. Then it will be other projects, like Holland or Marrakech.

Following the enormous success of his brand  Wilson Bela,  whose rackets and textiles are out of stock, Wilson has hallucinated with the success of the brand, so Bela also wants to get into centers of excellence. ”

 Padel Magazine : For the Netherlands where would it be? Do you already have an idea on the minimum number of courts? 

 Vincent Laureyssens:  “For the Netherlands, we are looking for a place. It will be in a large city, ideally Amsterdam, the most populous.

Regarding the number of pitches, the vision is to have  minimum 10 indoor courts , with a very nice central bar. Also 6 to 8 outdoor courts, a fitness center and a shop. Everything you need for padel.”

The WPT back in Belgium in 2021?

 Padel Magazine : Regarding your Belgian news, have we left for a stage of the World Padel Tour in 2021? The same site? How do you see things on event? 

 Vincent Laureyssens:  “The idea is to have a WPT exhibition in Knokke at the end of August in an exceptional location. The Knokke tennis club, a magical place.

We are going to work on a  Open in 2022  with a strong partner, whose details I would disclose later, but truly a huge partner. We would like to do an Open from 2022 each year, and also keep an exhibition in Knokke because it is our glamor, media, star, and place and fabulous showcase.

Covid obviously complicates everything, and that's why we're focusing on an exhibition in 2021. We'll have between 3000 and 4000 people over 3 days, but the big padel party over two weeks.

On the Open in 2022, we are sure to be able to target  25 to 000 people , since we hope that with vaccination, the Covid will really be behind us, and that we can start again on an event-based basis that we wanted to do in 2020.

In Belgium, like everywhere else, padel is exploding, and we will have Germans, Dutch, French and all Belgians in one of the biggest events in Northern Europe. It will be a great success, I am sure!”

From his names, we can guess his Spanish and Italian origins. Lorenzo is a multilingual passionate about sports: journalism by vocation and events by worship are his two legs. He is the international gentleman of Padel Magazine. You will often see him at various international competitions, but also at major French events. @eyeofpadel on Instagram to see his best padel photos!

On the same subject

Tags