Racquet sports have become increasingly popular as a recreational activity since the pandemic, and a Mesa company is hoping to capitalize on their popularity.
Padel Pals, a new multipurpose entertainment center will offer padel, pickleball and more. Opening this fall in Mesa, Padel Pals is the brainchild of founders Armando Acevedo, Carlos Pereyra and professional boxer Oscar Valdez.
Acevedo, the startup’s CEO who hails from Tucson, said he spent countless hours playing padel when he lived with family in Mexico and Miami. Padel is a racquet sport similar to pickleball with a smaller court and usually played in doubles. The difference is in padel the ball can be played off walls surrounding the court.
When Acevedo came back to Arizona as an adult, he said it was hard to find any padel courts in the Valley as pickleball was more popular.
Acevedo sensed a business opportunity with the lack of padel courts in Arizona.
“We started doing research to understand if we want to open a club. We want it to be built by racquet sport players and padel players and the local community. So we started asking friends who play racquet sports what they were looking for in a club.” Acevedo said. “That’s where I met Carlos. Carlos was a padel coach back in Mexico and managed some clubs down there.”
Pereyra brought with him management and business experience from his time as a padel coach to help with the club’s development.
Valdez said he believes the differences between padel and pickleball can make the former successful.
“Padel is played on padels in an enclosed court with glass, which is almost like squash, which makes rallies more strategic and makes games a bit longer,” Valdez said. “The racquet is solid, it has no strings and the scoring is just like tennis. Padel is more tactical and pickleball is more reaction-based.”
Valdez, a former WBC super featherweight champion and WBO featherweight champion, has a deep athletic background that extends beyond boxing. He’s 34 now and starting to think about business ventures beyond boxing.
Already being friends with Acevedo, this was a business plan Valdez could fully get behind.
“From 30 to 35 is about that age where boxers start retiring. I still feel like there’s a couple of years in me but you never know with how dangerous combat sports are,” Valdez said. “We want to leave the sport healthy and enter into business models.”
Padel was invented in Mexico. However, its popularity may be crossing into the United States, especially in a border state like Arizona.
“Padel was created in Mexico and developed in Argentina and Spain,” Pereyra said. “(Armando) saw the opportunity to bring to the Valley the fastest growing sport in the world.”
Downtown Mesa seemed like the ideal spot for the business because of its rapid development and proximity to the East Valley.
“The East Valley was really the target market, and this location is good for residents of East Mesa and Eastmark, which is a huge area of growth nearby,” LevRose real estate partner Bryn Norwood said. “It’s nearby Gilbert and not far from Chandler and Tempe even with freeway access.”
Aaron Norwood added the nearby area’s income and education demographics made the location a great pick as well.
“The demographics out by Mesa Gateway Airport are really strong,” Norwood said. “The amount of households in the area as well as the income demographics and education level out there. You’re dealing with people with a little more free time.”
Acevedo said he hopes Padel Pals will be able to open sometime this fall. They haven’t ruled out the possibility of expanding beyond Mesa.
“We’re aiming to open by the end of August or early September, and we are working with the city of Mesa and waiting on their approval so we can start building.” Acevedo said. “...If we are sure that this is going to be a success, our plan is to create a network of clubs around the valley.”
Padel Pals will be located at 4945 S. 71st St. in Mesa. For information, visit https://padel-pals.com/.
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