Behind the Glass and Steel of the Capital’s New Obsession
Across the leafy enclaves of north London, beside repurposed railway arches in Shoreditch, and on rooftop terraces in Canary Wharf, a curious racket sport has taken root. Padel tennis—once the preserve of Mediterranean leisure resorts—is booming in Britain’s capital. But for all its rise, another common refrain echoes alongside the pop of balls against glass walls: why is it so expensive to play padel in London?
In 2025, the question isn’t just rhetorical. The cost of booking a single padel court in central or greater London can now exceed £35–£50 per hour during peak times, with club memberships ranging from £80 to £150 a month, depending on amenities. Compare this to tennis, where public court hire is often subsidised—or five-a-side football, which rarely breaches the £7-per-person barrier—and padel’s premium becomes immediately clear.
So what’s driving the pricing? And is this expense a temporary feature of early adoption—or a structural limitation that could throttle the sport’s long-term growth?
To answer these questions, we must go beyond the glass walls and artificial turf to understand the economics, politics and planning tensions behind London’s padel explosion.
A Sport Grows in Glass
First, the basics. Padel tennis is played on an enclosed court one-third the size of a tennis court. The game’s appeal lies in its accessibility, social nature, and short learning curve. It blends the tactical complexity of squash with the scoring of tennis and the sociability of five-a-side football. Importantly, it is almost always played in doubles—making it ideal for group bookings and communal play.
In Spain, where the sport is most entrenched, padel has overtaken tennis in participation numbers. In Britain, particularly London, the sport has grown at breakneck speed. According to the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), there are now over 400,000 padel players nationwide, with more than 950 courts built or under development. Of these, at least one-third are within the Greater London area, with boroughs such as Wandsworth, Camden and Hackney emerging as hotspots.
Yet this success has come at a price—literally. In a city already struggling with affordable access to sport, padel has quickly become a luxury leisure experience, often indistinguishable from boutique fitness studios or private members’ clubs.
Land, Location and London Economics
At the heart of the cost question is land. London is one of the most expensive real estate markets in the world. According to Knight Frank’s 2025 Global Cities Report, commercial land in inner London zones now exceeds £1,800 per square metre. With a standard padel court requiring at least 200 square metres (excluding space for access and viewing), simply acquiring land—let alone developing it—is prohibitively expensive for most grassroots operators.
This has led to two dominant models of padel growth in the capital:
Repurposed spaces: old warehouses, car parks, disused tennis courts
High-end installations: rooftop builds, mixed-use retail complexes, private health clubs
In both cases, the overheads are substantial. Even retrofitted courts often require structural reinforcements to accommodate glass walls and overhead lighting. Temporary or pop-up courts—once seen as a cost-saving measure—have largely disappeared due to planning and insurance constraints.
“The reality is that a padel court in London costs double or triple what it does in Birmingham or Manchester,” says one senior advisor at a leading UK padel operator. “And the market expects more—bar areas, coaching services, social spaces—so pricing has to reflect that.”
The Hidden Cost of Glass
It’s easy to overlook the actual construction costs involved in padel infrastructure. While a basic outdoor padel court in the UK regions may cost between £30,000 and £45,000, that number rises significantly in London due to:
Premium materials: tempered glass, weatherproof turf, reinforced steel
Planning compliance: noise mitigation, lighting restrictions, health and safety inspections
Installation logistics: crane delivery, urban road closures, council coordination
London’s climate also demands covered or fully indoor courts, particularly for year-round commercial viability. These structures can cost well over £75,000 per court, excluding real estate.
Add to this the London-specific challenges of VAT on sport rentals (in certain commercial contexts), business rates, and higher insurance premiums, and the economics become even tighter. Operators have little choice but to pass these costs on to players.
Supply Lag and Booking Pressure
While demand for padel in London has skyrocketed, supply has lagged. The capital’s tight planning environment means that new courts often take 12–24 months to go from proposal to playability. As a result, existing courts operate at near full capacity—particularly during peak times between 5pm and 9pm on weekdays.
This imbalance has led to:
Premium pricing for peak slots
Monthly memberships with limited peak-time access
Dynamic pricing models similar to airline bookings
In some locations, such as Stratford, Clapham or Canary Wharf, court slots can be booked out weeks in advance, leading to fierce competition and an informal resale market for popular time slots. Operators argue that these mechanisms help manage demand, but critics suggest they reflect a lack of forward planning and affordable access routes.
Private Equity Enters the Court
The past two years have seen a wave of private capital entering London padel. From Qatari-backed Premier Padel events to venture-funded startups like Padium, Game4Padel, and Rocket Padel, the city has become a testbed for high-end sport-tech hospitality.
These operators are building not just courts, but experiences—complete with apps, coaching subscriptions, on-site cafés, pro shops and tournament circuits. While this enhances the product, it also entrenches the sport’s premium positioning.
“Padel is not being marketed like tennis,” says a leisure industry analyst. “It’s being positioned closer to CrossFit, Peloton or SoulCycle—something you pay for, commit to, and share socially. That has implications for pricing and accessibility.”
Local Government and Planning Bottlenecks
Despite the LTA’s endorsement of padel, many London boroughs have been slow to accommodate the sport. Planning delays, community objections, and confusion over classification (is padel a leisure or sporting facility?) have created bottlenecks.
Notably, several proposals in Richmond-upon-Thames, Barnet, and Hammersmith were delayed or rejected in 2024 due to resident concerns over noise, lighting and visual intrusion. In some cases, padel was viewed as a “commercial incursion” on public recreational space.
This inconsistency in planning policy across boroughs has created a postcode lottery. In Hackney or Lambeth, new courts are welcomed and fast-tracked. In Westminster or Kensington, they can take over a year to approve—or be rejected entirely.
The result is a patchwork of access, with wealthier or better-connected clubs expanding quickly, while smaller or community-driven venues stall or fail to materialise.
Is Padel Becoming Too Exclusive?
The worry for some is that padel in London risks becoming elitist, pricing out the very demographics that made it flourish in Spain or Latin America.
While some courts offer off-peak discounts or beginner promotions, most pricing structures still revolve around weekday evening play—when city professionals are free. This has created an unintended class divide, with padel becoming yet another premium urban pastime for the few.
The LTA has pledged to support more grassroots and school-level access, but in London, implementation remains sparse. Very few public parks offer padel, and most state schools lack the space, funding or permission to install courts.
By contrast, cities like Barcelona, Lisbon, and Rome have integrated padel into municipal sports offerings, with courts available in public parks and community centres at minimal cost.
The Case for Long-Term Investment
Despite its challenges, the case for padel investment in London remains strong. Court utilisation rates are among the highest in Europe. Member retention is excellent. The sport’s demographic appeal—crossing gender, age and cultural lines—is unmatched. And most importantly, the demand continues to outpace supply.
For long-term viability, however, the sector will need to:
Work with local councils to streamline planning
Introduce price-tiering or community quotas
Offer off-peak incentives and group discounts
Train more local coaches and youth leaders
Several operators are already moving in this direction. Rocket Padel has pledged to open five new London sites with youth coaching subsidies. Game4Padel has launched a “Pay & Play” pilot at its Wandsworth location for under-18s. And Padium is working with NHS-linked wellbeing schemes to integrate padel into physical activity prescriptions.
What Does the Future Hold?
If padel is to avoid becoming London’s next overpriced fitness trend—cheered in headlines, feared in balance sheets—it must pivot towards inclusivity and sustainability. That doesn’t mean slashing prices overnight. But it does mean creating a sport that is scalable, equitable and rooted in community as well as commerce.
In 2026, the capital is expected to host two international tournaments, and the LTA’s next strategic review may include proposals for London-specific funding models. The Mayor’s Office, too, is considering padel within its Healthy Streets agenda.
There is still time to shape padel’s trajectory—from expensive novelty to permanent fixture. But unless the costs are brought into balance, the sport may find its greatest concentration in London is also its greatest vulnerability.
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