Padel Comes to Fulton Market: Inside Union Padel Club, Chicago’s First Dedicated Padel Playground

   • STORIES FROM THE 78  
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Fulton Market has never been shy about reinvention. What was once meatpacking muscle turned Michelin playground now welcomes its latest import: padel, the fastest-growing sport on the planet. Enter Union Padel Club, Chicago’s first dedicated padel venue and a clear signal that the city’s athletic and social culture is evolving again.

Housed inside a 30,000-square-foot indoor space, Union Padel Club feels less like a traditional sports facility and more like a modern clubhouse built for the way people actually live. Five pristine indoor padel courts anchor the space, where glass walls keep rallies alive and spectators close enough to feel the rhythm of the game. The sport itself blends the instincts of tennis, the walls of squash, and the accessibility of pickleball, creating a fast, social doubles game that’s easy to learn and hard to quit.

But padel is only part of the equation. Union Padel Club leans fully into Fulton Market’s hybrid identity, where work, play, and wellness blur together. Members and day players move seamlessly between co-working lounges, private entertainment rooms, and social gathering spaces designed for everything from casual hangs to corporate events. A café, cocktail bar, and juice bar keep energy flowing from morning matches to evening meetups.

Recovery gets equal billing. Saunas and cold plunge pools offer post-match restoration, reinforcing the club’s focus on long-term wellness rather than quick workouts. A full pro shop and flexible programming for players of all ages and skill levels make the space accessible whether you’re discovering padel for the first time or chasing competitive play.

Padel’s rise has been swift and global. Born in Mexico in the late 1960s, the sport has exploded across Europe and Latin America and is now surging in the U.S. From just 20 courts nationwide in 2019 to roughly 600 by 2024, growth hubs have emerged in Miami, Texas, and California, with Chicago quickly positioning itself as the Midwest epicenter. Analysts project as many as 30,000 courts nationwide by 2030, turning padel from curiosity into cultural mainstay. Union Padel Club arrives at the perfect moment. It’s competitive without being exclusionary, social without being performative, and athletic without demanding a lifetime of training. In a city that loves its sports but craves new ways to connect, padel feels like less of a trend and more of a natural next chapter.

Chicago didn’t just get a new sport. It got a new third place.

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