Shay Given announces ambitious sports facility in Kildare
Artist's impression of what the new racquet arena at Goffs will look like
Arena Padel has revealed plans to open a state-of-the-art, 45,000 sq. ft indoor padel facility in Goffs next year.
Padel is a racket sport typically played in doubles on an enclosed court slightly smaller than a doubles tennis court.
It has the same scoring system as tennis, but different rules.
The rackets are solid (without strings) and perforated, balls can be played off the court walls, similar to squash, and it originated in Mexico.
Planning permission has been submitted to Kildare County Council for the €4m facility, which will include nine championship-standard indoor padel courts, along with complementary fitness and wellness offerings such as a state of the art bio-circuit gym along with a variety of recovery rooms.
Arena Padel is the brainchild of former Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Shay Given, and his business partner Declan Fagan.
Since retiring from professional football, Given has taken up padel, and the opportunity to create a world-class facility in Ireland was too good to turn down.
Goffs and Kildare was specifically selected as the first arena location.
“After retiring, I needed an outlet to keep my competitive juices flowing, and I found that in padel,” said Shay.
“It’s the fastest growing sport in the world, and it’s easy to see why. Padel can be played together by all ages and skill levels.
“We’ve founded Arena Padel to bring padel tennis to the masses by investing in purpose built, modern sports arenas.
“We have found an ideal location in Goffs and can’t wait to start welcoming players early next year”.
Like Given, business partner, Fagan is a regular padel player, and the shared passion between the two created the idea for Arena Padel.
