Beacon Park opens public padel courts in Lichfield this Thursday

Three outdoor padel courts opened in Beacon Park in Lichfield, bringing the fast-growing racket sport into a public park rather than a private club environment. The site is floodlit, bookable through Playtomic and open to anyone without a membership requirement, a setup that should make it easier for casual players, families and first-timers to walk in and try it.

Lichfield District Council said the Beacon Park project installed three new courts, and the launch followed a rollout that began with the council’s announcement in September 2025 that padel tennis was coming to the park. By April 2026, work was under way, and by late April Fosse Contracts Limited had been appointed to install the courts.

The opening matters because padel has spread in the UK by pairing a low barrier to entry with a strong social hook, and Beacon Park leans hard into that model. A public park site in a well-used green space gives the game a visibility private sports complexes cannot match. People walking through the park can watch rallies, understand the format and decide to book a session, which is exactly how a niche sport starts to feel normal.

The booking details are designed to keep that access broad. One council social post said sessions start from £16 per hour, the courts are open every day from 7am to 10pm, and bookings can be made up to 14 days in advance. Promotional material also said balls are included. Another project post gave different opening-hour guidance, but the core pitch remained the same: public access, no membership barrier and a simple online booking route.

Beacon Park’s sports facilities page placed the padel courts inside a wider programme to boost the park, alongside a new adventure golf course. That combination points to a broader shift in how councils are trying to use public space in 2026: not just as somewhere to pass through, but as a place where recreation, repeat visits and informal sport can coexist.

For Lichfield, the result is a new entry point into a sport that has moved quickly from novelty to mainstream conversation across the West Midlands and beyond. The real test now is whether the park setting turns that interest into regular use, with local players returning often enough to make Beacon Park a destination rather than a launch-day talking point.