A major entertainment precinct left vacant for nine months is set to be transformed into a new sporting venue.
Padelground: Station Yards will open at the former The Station site, with the seven-court padel facility expected to launch in summer 2027.
The project is being led by Brendon and Cristy Levenson, the founders of gym franchise Jetts, following the recent opening of their $4 million Padelground sports and wellness club at Forest Glen.
Mr Levenson said Station Yards would include six doubles courts and one singles court, with four undercover beneath the site’s existing 12m canopies.
“Station Yards is designed as a community and brand activation to bring the site back to life with a fun and socially focused space, while adding more padel courts to the Coast to complement our new Forest Glen location,” he said.
“The location will offer casual court bookings, introduction to padel sessions, social mixers, and will be available for small group and corporate bookings.
“Padel is the fastest growing game in the world, and with the addition of Station Yards, the Coast will be well served through 14 courts across Padelground’s two locations.”
The venue will retain some of the site’s previous entertainment focus, with plans for food trucks, coffee vans and local music during weekend events.
“The site has always been about bringing people together and padel has become so popular because it does exactly that,” he said.
“You can’t play it alone, and you can’t play it without a smile on your face.
“You can play for the first time and be rallying in minutes, and it’s a great way to meet new people.
“Padel is played with four people on court – just big enough for a great workout, yet small enough to catch up, banter, and have a laugh together.”
The Station officially closed on January 3 after revealing business losses of almost $1 million.
Before that, the precinct had been home to NightQuarter, which opened in November 2020 with street food, market stalls and live entertainment before closing in 2022.
Mr Levenson said the new Forest Glen padel club had attracted more than 1200 registered players within 10 days of full trading, while its founding memberships sold out in 36 hours.
“Eighty per cent of players coming in have never played padel before, and then we have a base of Europeans and South Americans who have grown up with the game that are just incredibly happy to have a world class padel club here on the Coast,” he said.
“What’s surprised us most is who’s playing: people who haven’t done team sport in years, couples, and groups of friends who have started making it their regular catch-up.”
Players at Station Yards will also have access to the Forest Glen facility, which has seven indoor courts, a functional group training studio, sauna and hot and cold plunge facilities.
