This post provides details and information to support the committee’s proposal for Wargrave Tennis Club to borrow and invest up to £90,000 to install a second padel court in 2026, in a way that retains our existing setup of 7 tennis courts and 3 pickleball courts (including 2 shared with tennis courts 5 and 6). This is shown in the image below.
The Rationale for a Second Padel Court
The introduction of our first padel court at Wargrave has been incredibly successful. In our annual AGM online survey, 85% of members said that the first padel court has added value to the Club, and, financially, it is on track to deliver a 12-month incremental income of £31,000 to the Club. The rationale for the second court are:
- 60% of our members and 72% of new members supported the outline plans. In our AGM members survey, outline plans for a second padel court (without sharing the full financial costs) were supported by 60% of all members, and 72% of members who have joined the club in the last 12 months. And only 7% of all members, and 5% of new members, wanted no further investments.
- Our first padel court has been incredibly popular and central to our 50% membership growth. Membership of the Club grew by 50% in 2025, with over 200 new members joining the Club since the 1st October 2024. AGM survey results show that 50% of all adult members now play padel (including 60% of new members); 79% are “pleased the first padel court was installed” (only 3% disagree); and 85% say padel has “added value to the Club” (only 2% disagree). The current court is already in high demand, especially at peak hours. Furthermore, the LTA predict that the game will continue to rise in popularity nationally, with UK player numbers already rising from 129,000 to 400,000 in less than 2 years.
- Two adjacent padel courts will better enable coaching, beginner programmes, and junior development. Two adjacent padel courts will allow our coach to run more effective group sessions and will support junior programmes such as holiday camps—something difficult to achieve with just one court. Our Head Coach is attending a padel coaching course in March in preparation for running coaching and group sessions in June and beyond. A second court will also facilitate better social sessions when larger groups might want to play a mix of padel and pickleball.
- The second padel court will help further strengthen the Club’s long-term financial position. Our first padel court is on track to deliver an incremental growth in the club’s annual income of approximately £31,000. Based on conservative estimates, the second court is expected to increase and help secure this incremental income to £49,000 per year. This strength is reflected in our 30-year financial model with growing cash reserves that could be used for other investments to further enhance the Club in line with our objective of “advancing the game of tennis” for players of all ages and abilities.
Financial Assumptions in More Detail
Our financial assumptions, plus the experience of our first padel court, indicate that the investment will have a very positive impact on the clubs’ long-term finances. Our first padel court is on track to deliver an incremental growth in the club’s annual income of £31,000 (£16,000 from court hire fees and £15,000 from at least 60 additional adult membership subscriptions). The investment in the second court will be fully funded by a member’s loan of £90,000, which we plan to repay after two years, together with a 5% interest charge. In terms of income, it is conservatively assumed that the second court will increase and better secure annual padel court income from £31,000 to £49,000 (from an additional 40 adult members and from additional court hire fees). The financial plan assumes that court hire fees will remain unchanged for the next two years, at £10 an hour off-peak during the day and at weekends, and £20 for peak hours after 6pm during the week. We are aware that these rates are significantly lower than those charged by commercial clubs, but we plan to maintain our members-only policy for padel court bookings.
Outline Plan of Works
The work will involve three steps: 1) to carry out ground works and fencing changes to widen court number 8 with an extra strip of tarmac 24 x 4 meters (cost £30-£34k); 2) to dismantle and rotate the current Portico padel court to an east-west orientation (cost £11k); 3) to install a second Portico padel court adjacent to the existing padel court on an east-west orientation (cost £45k). If we get planning permission in early April, and with good weather, it is assumed that we would complete ground works and install the second padel court by the end of May (with our current padel court out of action for no more than 7 days).
Impact on Clubhouse Extensions
Because the second padel court is self-financed (via a member’s loan and through incremental income), it will not impact our plans for the clubhouse extensions. This work will be funded from a separate ring-fenced budget from Club reserves and, if required, with a relatively small long-term club development loan from the LTA. However, because the plans for the clubhouse extension are more complex, we need more time to gather details ahead of a separate EGM with members. It is hoped that the EGM will run in May, with initial clubhouse works starting in June and July.
Images below of proposed plans for the clubhouse extensions.
More Information
If you have more questions, please contact a member of the committee or come along to two Q&A briefing sessions that will be held in the clubhouse on the 12th and 17th March from 7pm to 8pm. We expect the EGM for the clubhouse extension to be held in early May and to follow a similar process. Keep an eye on your emails for more details.
