London Sports Festival moves from 3×3 basketball success to pickleball at the City of London Corporation’s Guildhall Yard
How padel courts became a must-have for upscale hotels and members’ clubs Sport Business Professional padel is having its moment in the London sun this week as the capital plays host to an event on the top-tier Premier Padel tour for the first time. The driving force behind its recent stratospheric growth not just in the UK but across Europe, the Middle East and North America, however, is its [...]
Padel chief: A sport which succeeds in London gets noticed around the world Sport Business Ahead of the London Premier Padel P1 in August Luigi Carraro makes the case for the capital and why sport loves the city. What I have always loved about London is that it knows a sport worth watching when it sees one. The London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games was no better example of that [...]
Crystal Palace stadium set for £130m revamp with 25,000 seats Sport Business Plans for the £130m refurbishment of a major 25,000-capacity south London stadium in Crystal Palace have been given the green light. The planning application for the renovation of the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre has been approved with the refurbishment set to feature a revamped swimming and diving pool, as well as a padel centre, [...]
Padel craze drives demand for industrial property June 10, 2026 Padel operators have leased out more than one million square feet of industrial space in the last 18 months, as the UK’s newest sports craze takes over the country’s warehouses. The volume of square feet snapped up for Britain’s fastest-growing racquet sport in the past year and a half is almost seven times that in [...]
VVV Sports eyes Nasdaq listing after £5m raise for US expansion May 26, 2026 London-listed VVV Sports, believed to be the only public pure-play vehicle for investing in padel and pickleball, is planning to join Nasdaq later this year. The company, founded by British entrepreneur Jonathan Rowland, will retain its place on the Aquis stock exchange but is seeking a dual listing as it expands its US footprint. Before [...]
Arsenal in talks with architects Populous over Emirates expansion May 13, 2026 Arsenal are in talks with Populous, the architects behind the original Emirates Stadium design, as they weigh up how best to expand their 60,000-seater home. Sources familiar with the process insist that all options remain on the table, from major works that would likely require a temporary a move away from the Emirates, to smaller [...]
Stormzy-backed Padel Social Club raises £5.5m to open three new sites May 6, 2026 Stormzy-backed Padel Social Club has raised £5.5m from new investors to open three new sites across London. It comes as the business prepares to add a total of 17 new courts at sites at the O2, in Kentish Town and Paddington this year. The fresh investment includes leading consumer investors Clark Group and Active Partners, [...]
Padel’s growth phase is largely behind it, so what comes next? April 10, 2026 Padel hasn’t taken off in the UK by accident. It has grown quickly because it arrived at exactly the right moment. Like many sports, it benefited from Covid-19. At a time when people were looking for ways to stay active and social, padel offered something simple: it was easy to pick up, played in small [...]
Exclusive: Olympia to host Premier Padel Tour London leg April 8, 2026 Olympia will today be confirmed as the host venue for the Premier Padel Tour, as it heads to London for the first time this year. City AM revealed in December that the Kensington site was the front runner to host the tournament, which has the support of the Lawn Tennis Association. The event – known [...]
Premier Padel Tour heading to major London venue in 2026 December 18, 2025 The Premier Padel Tour will head to London for the first time next August as the sport continues to grow across Britain. A venue has not yet been confirmed but City AM understands that Olympia in Kensington is the overwhelming favorite. It is part of a multi-year deal to bring a leg of the Premier [...]