On the latest episode of La Previa, hosts Asli Pelit and Boris Gartner speak with Santiago Gomez, the founder and CEO of Padel Haus, New York City’s first and only padel club.
Gomez, a former investment banker and the co-founder of award-winning Mexican restaurants Cosme and Atla in New York, played the sport as a 15-year-old and picked it up again when he moved back to Mexico during the pandemic.
“I played every day,” Gomez said, “and thought having a club in NYC would be great.” The club opened its doors last July. Since then, the company has raised $7.5 million in Series A funding, valuing it at $18 million.
According to Gomez, padel became more popular in Europe during the pandemic, like pickleball did in the U.S. “Pickleball had a momentum in the U.S., because the professional league was launched quickly and celebrities like Tom Brady and Mark Cuban bought teams,” he said. “But I think today the opportunity is in padel.”
Padel is now growing rapidly in the U.S. In addition to New York, there are private clubs in Florida, Texas, California, Nevada, Arkansas, Pennsylvania and Oklahoma. In May, North America’s first professional padel league, the Pro Padel League will kick off and put on tournaments in seven locations, including Toronto, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Diego, Miami and Cancún.
The hosts also discuss the record-setting $6 billion sale of the Washington Commanders and the latest developments in the Manchester United sale.
Finally, Pelit and Gartner talk about the latest collective bargaining agreement the NBA and its players reached.
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