Playing padel in a church? Yes, you can… in Arnhem...

#THIS ARTICLE IN DUTCH is written by Emilie Maclaine Pont | translated by Liesbeth Wallien

Anyone interested in sports can’t have missed the rise of padel. Apart from the occasional noise complaint, this ‘new’ racket sport is met with cheers everywhere; padel courts spring up like mushrooms. Arnhem can boast a unique site, though: recently a local church was converted to house padel courts.

Holy Padel is an initiative of Roland Verheij. An entrepreneur pur sang who owns several properties and previously turned a church in Arnhem into a CrossFit box. In April of this year Sint Jozef church was opened to padel fans.

Mobile padel court
Verheij bought the church – which had been redundant for almost twenty years – and the basement where there used to be a nursery – five years ago. ‘The city would rather have the church converted into social housing, but so far no housing corporation has been found willing. Another plan is to have a supermarket here, but that won’t be before 2030, if it happens at all, because there is no electricity. There used to be a skatepark in the church but it wasn’t turning a profit. As a fervent padel player I saw an opportunity, especially when I heard of a mobile court that is made up of a steel frame that can be clicked together easily.’

Verheij had his brainwave in March and one month later the church court was ready for action. ‘No permits were necessary because the church had already been designated as a sports location. I was worried that the hitting of the ball would be too loud but the artificial turf we put down drowns out the sound. The cages act as chambers.’

Fully automated
Players can rent a court for eight to ten euros an hour. Using a code you can access the court 20 minutes before start time. Six minutes before start time the lights go on automatically. There are dressing rooms, machines for renting rackets and buying balls, fans. A new addition is an AI system that (at eight euros a month) analyses your game. In 2025 Holy Padel will introduce laser technology. If you hit the window instead of the ground, the lights turn red. This will put an end to the discussions whether the ball hit the ground first.

“We have also installed sixteen cameras. It happened that players didn’t close the front door properly, and people got in who had no business here. The cameras help prevent that.’

‘I like awkward buildings’
Because of the sizable investments and limited earnings over summer, the project is far from profitable yet. Moreover, Verheij wants to spend every left-over euro on making the historical building fully waterproof and windproof. Verheij has no idea whether the padel courts can stay in the church. ‘Perhaps in six years’ time the supermarket will be ready to move in. If not, we would like to add five outside courts, a cafe and a wellness area on the adjacent site. There is already a gym in the nursery in the basement. So far it is not a real sports club, but it will be once we realise the extra facilities.’

If it were up to Verheij, there will be more projects like Arnhem. ‘I like awkward buildings, and always see opportunities. Nothing in the pipeline yet, but that can change any minute – it could be a padel court or it could be a gym.’

For more information: www.holypadel.nl