S3 Padel has opened the doors to its newest club in Bangor – bringing North Wales’ largest indoor padel and pickleball facility to the heart of the city. To mark the opening, S3 Padel is hosting a community week with free sessions running for beginners, families and anyone curious to try padel for the first time.
S3 Padel Bangor features eight indoor padel courts and four pickleball courts under one roof, alongside a dedicated social and events space, a pro shop, warm-up area, full changing facilities and bar/cafe serving hot and cold food plus a selection of drinks. It is the first club of its kind in North Wales at this scale.
Padel is one of the fastest-growing sports in the UK, driven by its social appeal, low barriers to entry and genuine accessibility for players of every age and ability. The sport has added close to 8,000 new courts worldwide in the last year alone, and the UK is one of its standout growth markets – S3 Padel Bangor brings that momentum to North Wales for the first time.
The club is operated by S3 Padel, trading as Social Sports Society – an organisation founded to reimagine how communities engage with sport and wellbeing. S3 Padel currently runs five clubs across the UK (excluding Bangor), serving over 36,000 players of all ages, genders and abilities, with Bangor its first club in Wales.
At the core of Social Sports Society’s mission is a pledge of 250,000 hours of free court time over the next five years for schools, charities and community organisations across its clubs – a commitment that will extend to Bangor from day one.
The club offers a full weekly programme designed to make the sport accessible to everyone – from Intro to Padel sessions for complete beginners, through to Americano-style socials, coached sessions, and competitive matchplay. Dedicated women’s sessions, family socials and junior programmes ensure there is a genuine way in for every part of the community.
Pickleball, another of the world’s fastest-growing racket sports, is also available at the club, broadening its appeal beyond padel and offering the local community even more ways to play.
Natasha Waterfield, Chief Operating Officer of S3 Padel, said:
“Bangor is a really exciting step for us – it’s our first club in Wales and the biggest indoor padel and pickleball facility in North Wales. We’ve seen first-hand across our other clubs how quickly padel brings people together, and we think Bangor is the perfect place to grow the sport in a part of the country that hasn’t had access to it at this level before.
“It’s for the person who’s never picked up a racket and wants to try something new. It’s for the family looking for something active to do together. It’s for the group of friends who want a social that doesn’t revolve around sitting in a pub. That’s who S3 is built for, and that’s who we want walking through the door in Bangor.”
Gavin Williams, Club Manager at S3 Padel Bangor, said:
“I couldn’t be more proud to be opening this club. We’ve got eight padel courts, four pickleball courts, a great social space and a team that genuinely wants to make every person who walks in feel welcome – whether they’ve played a hundred times or have no idea what padel or pickleball is.
“The response from the local community has already been brilliant, and we want to give everyone a proper chance to come and experience it. Bring your friends, bring the kids, and come and have a go.
“My focus is making sure everyone who comes in for their first session leaves having had a great time and wanting to come back. That’s the only measure of success that matters to me.”
