Craig Robson: "We built a padel club in a shed and the town built the rest"
The founder of Ouseburn Padel Shed on damp winters, sceptical neighbours and why a four-court club in Newcastle feels more like a village hall than a gym.
Przegląd
Craig Robson spent fifteen years managing warehouses for a logistics firm before he played his first game of padel on a family holiday in the Algarve. Within two years he had signed the lease on a tired industrial shed in the Ouseburn Valley, under the railway viaduct, and turned it into Ouseburn Padel Shed, four indoor courts with a café and a bar. We met him on a grey Tuesday morning, with the first session of the day already under way behind the glass.
On the leap
Why a shed in Newcastle, of all places?
Because nobody else was doing it. In 2021 you could play padel in the south of England if you were happy to drive, and that was about it up here. I knew warehouses. I knew what a big steel shed costs to heat, how the roof behaves in the rain and what the floor can take. Most people looking for padel sites were looking for land. I was looking for a roof.
What did the building need?
More than I hoped. The roof had to be raised in one corner to give us the height for lobs, the floor had to be levelled and the whole place insulated so it was not a fridge from November to March. The courts went in last. People think the courts are the expensive part. They are not. The building is.
On the early days
How did the neighbourhood react?
With polite confusion. The Ouseburn is pubs, studios and breweries, and here was a bloke from a logistics firm putting glass boxes in a shed. We ran free taster sessions every Saturday for the first three months. People came in for a laugh, played for an hour and booked again on the way out. The brewery next door started a staff league. That did more for us than any advertising.
Who plays at the club now?
Everyone. Students, retired squash players, a few ex-footballers, a group of nurses who come off night shifts at seven in the morning. What surprised me is how many women play. Padel does not ask you to have played tennis as a child, so people arrive on an even footing.
On weather and community
Does the northern climate help or hurt?
It helps us, if I am honest. Nobody wants to play outdoors in Newcastle in February. When it is dark at four and blowing a gale off the North Sea, a warm, bright hall with music on is a lovely place to be. Summer is quieter, because people go to the coast, so we run summer leagues with shorter seasons to keep everyone involved.
How do you make a small club feel like a community?
Four courts is a good size. You cannot hide. We know most players by name, and the staff introduce new people to a regular foursome rather than leaving them to the booking system. The bar matters too. A lot of padel is the half hour after the match, when you replay the points that went wrong.
On visitors
Do you see many travelling players?
More every year. People come up for a weekend, see the bridges, eat well and book a couple of games. We also get players stopping on the way to Northumberland. Our advice is always the same: message the club before you come, tell us your level and we will find you a match. Turning up on a Friday night and hoping for the best rarely works anywhere.
And for anyone dreaming of opening their own club?
Fall in love with the building before you fall in love with the idea. Walk round it in the rain, ask about the heating bills and talk to the neighbours. Then go and play padel somewhere warm, because you will not get much time on court once you open.