Chapel Allerton Padel Tennis Courts

Aim

The aim of the project is to install 2 Padel Tennis Courts with a canopy to increase the sports offering to the local area.

Chapel Allerton Lawn Tennis, Squash and Gym Club is a not for profit members owned sports club that was founded in 1880. We pride ourselves on offering 16 tennis courts, 6 squash courts, a gym, a fitness studio and a social bar. Padel Tennis is a relatively new sport that is set to become the fastest growing sport in the world and we would love to add Padel Tennis to Chapel Allerton to increase the offering of sports to the local community.

Photo of a tennis tournament held in 1896.

After a couple of tough years due to Covid-19, where the club membership numbers dropped by 50%, we have worked hard to recover and managed to increase membership to 1300 members. We now offer facilities to the local community such as local schools, U3A and parent and baby classes.

We envision the addition of padel tennis will help cover increase operating costs, such as energy prices. For example, the club has already invested in a biomass boiler to offer greener heating, however the price of wood pellets has increased from £220 per tonne to £530 per tonne in the last 6 months. This will increase our annual heating bill by approximately £20,000. Other increases in the clubs operating costs include the increase of national minimum wage, stock price rises and maintenance costs.

Community impact

At present, there are currently no Padel courts in North Leeds and this is something we would love to offer Chapel Allerton and the wider community. The introduction of Padel Tennis to Chapel Allerton will allow individuals to try a new sport and either remain or become active in a social environment. 

Padel tennis is a mixture of squash and tennis, which is extremely popular in countries such as Spain and Argentina. There are now over 20,000 padel courts and 6 million active players in Spain. Padel is now increasing in popularity in the UK with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) aiming to have over 400 padel courts in the UK by 2023. 

The scoring of padel replicates that of tennis, however the use of a doubles only format and an underarm serve make it extremely accessible to all. The bat is carbon fibre filled with foam and the ball replicates a tennis ball with less air, meaning the bounce is a lot slower. 

We will offer group coaching, individual coaching, social play and fun events. Padel is an incredibly social sport and we aim the sport to bring individuals together to meet new friends and enjoy a new hobby whilst staying active together. 

We aim to install our padel courts by summer 2023 and are currently waiting for Leeds City Council to approve our planning permission application. 

Padel will be available all year around for all in our community to give it a go! 

Why are we crowdfunding?

We are crowdfunding to raise money for the Padel Courts here at Chapel A, Opening the doors to new a new sport into North Leeds as well as welcoming new members from the local community. 

The overall project cost is £330,000 to install 2 padel courts and a canopy. We aim to loan £250,000 from the Lawn Tennis Association using their quick access loan scheme and the remaining funds will be contributed by the club. 

The funds raised from crowdfunding will ensure Chapel Allerton can complete the project whilst continuing to maintain our current facilities. The funding will allow Chapel Allerton to complete the project to our required specification which will include adding disability access to the courts and providing equipment for individuals to give the sport a try. By ensuring the surface around the court is complete, we can offer a social outdoor seating area where individuals can socialise whilst watching the grass lawn tennis courts and padel. 

How we’ll spend the money raised

We are hoping to raise the money to make sure our Padel courts are always playable , both courts are going to have canopies as well as all weather lighting.

We will have rackets for you to borrow whilst playing,available at the clubs receptions, with a bar area for you to enjoy a drink after your match.

How you can play your part

There are four simple ways to help us reach our target, and make this project a reality.

1. Make a pledge. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success!

2. Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and tell the world to get behind us! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.

3. Offer rewards. Get involved if you are a local business by donating things we can offer to our supporters. We will give you a shout out!

4. If you want to run your own fundraiser to support us, maybe a sponsored activity or similar, use the 'contact project' button at the top of our page to let us know. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fun idea!

This project successfully funded on 13th December 2022