The Tennis Club Noventa di Piave, in the eastern Veneto area near San Donà di Piave, has brought a padel court into operation on its via Guaiane sports complex, turning a project first approved by the local council in 2021 into a working facility for members and local residents. The court, supplied by Italian Padel, now sits inside a multi-sport offer that already includes red-clay tennis courts, a fixed covered indoor tennis court, a 130-seat grandstand, changing rooms, a secretariat and a clubhouse.
A unanimous vote, then a long wait
The padel plan emerged alongside a wider rethink of the via Guaiane sports area. In February 2021, the Noventa di Piave municipal council unanimously approved a first-reading variant to the municipal Plan of Interventions covering the area. Mayor Claudio Marian framed the move as a response to two pressures: a shortage of parking near the Fontebasso palasport and theatre, and a request from the local tennis association to add padel to its facilities.
"We had been talking for some time about the need to create new parking spaces," Marian said at the time, citing the overlap of events at the stadium, the palasport and the bocce club, and the 800-seat theatre evenings at Fontebasso. He added that "for years the Noventa administration has focused on giving its citizens various sports facilities" and described the padel proposal as a natural extension of that policy.
The parking expansion, planned for the green area in front of the palasport on via Guaiane, was designed to add around twenty new spaces using a grass-reinforcing grid so the lawn would not be lost. The same variant authorised the padel court, to be built on a green strip near the senior citizens' centre and beside the existing covered tennis court. Costs were borne entirely by the sports association, and the council required an acoustic-impact study to reassure residents of a nearby apartment block.
What players will actually find at the club
According to the Tennis Club Noventa di Piave website, the court was built by Italian Padel to high material and construction standards. The club describes padel as "a sport in rapid growth throughout the world" and markets the facility as suitable for both beginners and experienced players.
Club members receive priority booking and can reserve the court online; the club's page also links to a dedicated WhatsApp group. Non-member residents of the area are also able to use the court, and the club offers lessons with qualified instructors aimed at newcomers learning the basics and at more advanced players looking to sharpen their game.
The new facility sits inside a broader complex that the club says has grown from a single red-clay court to a multi-court venue. Today the site includes two red-clay tennis courts, which are covered in winter by inflatable pressostatic domes, one fixed covered court with a glued-laminate wood structure, the padel court, two changing rooms, a secretariat, a clubhouse and a grandstand of more than 130 seats.
Padel’s local bet
Padel has been one of the fastest-growing racquet sports in Italy, and the Noventa di Piave administration explicitly cited that national trend when accepting the Tennis Noventa association's proposal. The club's own page echoes the message, noting that "padel in Veneto is increasingly practised and appreciated" and thanking Marian, deputy mayor Rosana Concetti, assessor Stefano Buffolo and the rest of the administration for enabling the project.
By keeping the build on association funds and the parking upgrade on the council side, the two sides of the deal were separated financially. The model is also a small case study in how a small Veneto commune can extend its sports stock without straining the public balance sheet, with the private partner carrying the main capital cost.
The real test begins after opening
Three threads are worth following. First, how heavily the new court is used: the club page offers online booking and a dedicated WhatsApp group, suggesting the management is already tracking demand. Second, whether the lessons programme produces a pipeline of regular players, particularly among younger members, a group Marian and his council have previously singled out as a priority. Third, the acoustic study ordered by the council in 2021: the club and the municipality have not published results in the materials reviewed, and any neighbour complaints about noise from the padel walls would be a natural follow-up.
For now, the project that began as a unanimous council vote four years ago has reached the stage the club has long promised its members: a working padel court on the via Guaiane sports campus, open to members and to local residents in eastern Veneto.
Sources
These sources formed the evidence pack for this article. Links open the original publisher; inclusion does not imply endorsement.
- REDAZIONE original
- REDAZIONE original
- Cristiano Pellizzaro original
- www.tcnoventa.it original
- www.tcnoventa.it original