James Taylor-backed PadelPlex plans second Nottingham venue

PadelPlex has lodged plans for a second East Midlands venue, a £1m Nottingham complex backed by former Nottinghamshire and England cricketer James Taylor. The proposal would place five covered outdoor padel courts on the car park of a current poker club, with a hospitality pavilion built alongside them.

The scheme is pitched as more than a bare-bones court block. The plans include a reception area, snack bar and indoor seating, and the developers have described it as a premium padel venue. The founders hope to open the centre in 2026, adding another purpose-built option to a city that is fast becoming one of the sharper padel battlegrounds outside London and the major national hubs.

Taylor’s involvement matters because padel’s next phase in the UK is increasingly being shaped by people who already understand how to package sport with a commercial experience. PadelPlex is not simply chasing court demand in Nottingham; it is building around the mix of playing time, hospitality and repeat visits that has made the format attractive to athletes, operators and investors looking beyond the biggest metropolitan markets.

The East Midlands has become a clear example of that shift. Nottingham Tennis Centre has already put forward plans for three new courts, while a separate three-court facility has been proposed in Oakham. Alongside other local planning applications and approvals, the projects point to a market where operators are moving quickly to secure sites before the region becomes crowded.

For PadelPlex, the Nottingham project is another marker of how padel is moving into mainstream UK sport-business culture. The attraction is not only the sport itself but the site strategy: a car park, a hospitality pavilion, covered courts and a format that can work in cities where traditional rackets venues do not have to anchor the whole business case.