Two of the nation’s fastest growing sports are coming to Mission by way of a new sports complex.

The RGV Padel Club LLC will invest $2.7 million to construct a new 21,500 square-foot sports venue for padel ball and pickleball players across South Texas.
The venue will offer 18,000 square feet of court space – enough for seven padel ball and six pickleball courts – and a 3,500 square-foot building that will house a pro shop and a bar and lounge area located on the second floor so that patrons can watch games from above.

“We’re thrilled RGV Padel Club is bringing diversity to the entertainment options in Mission,” Teclo Garcia, Mission EDC CEO, said. “These types of businesses create a higher quality-of-life for our residents and promote economic development by creating more employment opportunities, generating new revenues and stimulating the overall local economy.”

Pickleball and padel ball are racquet sports that are gaining popularity worldwide because they’re easier to play than some of their counterparts, like tennis and badminton.
“That’s why a lot of people started playing padel – because it’s really fun and really social,” RGV Padel Club owner Hector Ronquillo said, noting up to 4 players are allowed on the court at once.

Ronquillo and his brother Sebastian built the Valley’s first padel ball and pickleball sports complex in McAllen last year, and it has since seen tremendous growth. In July, the McAllen club hosted what Ronquillo classifies as the “best tournament of padel ball in the U.S.”

More than 100 teams participated.

“We had one of the best teams from the U.S. come play, and the number one player from Mexico came to play as well,” Hector Ronquillo said.

Padel ball originated in Mexico more than six decades ago, and it has recently gained momentum.

“We think we can create a bigger community in Mission because a lot of people from Mexico come to Mission to shop and eat,” Ronquillo said. “We have been playing tennis since we were little, so we know the market really well.”

The new enterprise will have a total economic output of $5.8 million on the Mission economy over a two-year period, according to a study conducted by the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley’s Data & Information Systems Center.

The RGV Padel club “will support 52 jobs, generate $1.6 million in labor income, add $2.4 million to the Texas Gross Domestic Product, and create $327,408 in state and local taxes,” the study said.

The RGV Padel Club announced the project after entering into a performance agreement with the Mission Economic Development Corporation, which has awarded the company an economic incentive of $140,000 to be paid out in four annual installments of $35,000.

In return, the RGV Padel Club has agreed to create and maintain 20 new jobs in Mission, join the Greater Mission Chamber of Commerce as a premium member, and award a Mission nonprofit $5,000 to support community groups.

The new facility, which will be located at 2513 Victoria Drive in Mission, just east of the Hampton Inn and Suites, behind Office Depot, will be the largest-of-its-kind in the Rio Grande Valley.