How Much Does a Padel Dome Cost?
Covered padel is often searched for as a “padel dome”, but the seasonal air domes used to cover tennis and football through winter are not the right fit for padel. Padel is a permanent, year-round commercial sport that needs consistent height for the lob and a sociable, open feel. That points to a purpose-built framed fabric structure, with a permanent air dome an option for larger multi-court venues.
The Options for Covered Padel
Covair offers every covering technology, so we can recommend the right one for your courts rather than the only one we sell. For padel, that almost always means a framed fabric structure – and, for larger multi-court destinations wanting full climate control, a permanent air dome. A seasonal, take-down-in-summer dome is built for a different job and a different sport.
Cost by Structure Type
Framed Fabric Structure – from £94,000 for two to four courts
The usual choice for padel. A compound-curve frame purpose-built for the sport: an 8-11.5m clear apex (around 10.5m is the optimum) so lobs are never restricted, open or sliding-curtain sides for the social, airy feel padel thrives on, and full weather protection for the glass back walls. It runs at effectively zero ventilation and cooling cost, and configures from a single court up to a multi-court complex. For 6+ court premium complexes, a geodesic frame from £72,500 gives the largest clear spans and a 40-year design life.
Permanent Air Dome – from £150,000
For larger multi-court padel destinations that want total climate control 365 days a year: DUOL double-skin technology, A-rated energy efficiency and premium conditions every day. It earns its place once you have enough courts to fill it.
Why not a seasonal dome?
Seasonal air domes are designed to cover tennis courts and football pitches through winter and store away in summer. A padel venue trades year-round as a commercial destination, so a structure removed for half the year does not fit – and the purpose-built framed option better suits padel’s height and social character.
What Padel Needs From a Cover
- Height for the lob. Padel rewards the lob, so the structure needs generous, consistent clear height – around 8m minimum, with 10.5m the comfortable optimum.
- Rain off the glass. Padel’s glass back walls have to stay dry for a true, consistent rebound; covering the court protects both the playing experience and your rebooking rate.
- A sociable feel. Padel is as much social as sport. Open or sliding-curtain sides keep the spectator energy and natural ventilation players expect, rather than sealing the courts away.
How Many Courts
A single padel court has a structure footprint of around 13x23m. Most commercial venues build two, four or six courts so the economics, league play and coaching all stack up – and the more courts under one structure, the lower the cost per court. A framed structure scales cleanly to multi-court complexes; at the larger end, a permanent dome becomes viable. See padel court covers for the options in detail.
The Commercial Case
For most padel operators the deciding number is the return. Covered courts can trade up to around 12 hours a day, at typical utilisation of 75-85% and court rates of roughly £40-60 an hour – income an outdoor court loses every time it rains. In high-demand areas operators typically see a return on investment in 24-36 months. A framed structure adds effectively zero energy cost to that, because it needs no mechanical ventilation or cooling.
Funding and Planning
The LTA backs padel development through its funding rounds; the routes change over time, so check the current programme. On planning, padel’s usual concerns are noise and light – and a covered, enclosed structure can actually help by containing both, compared with floodlit open courts. Our guide to planning a covered padel facility covers the process in full.
The membrane is the wear item on any covered structure. Regular DomeCare servicing extends its life, and re-covering restores it to as-new at end of life for a fraction of a rebuild.
Protecting Your Investment
A covered padel venue is a long-term, revenue-generating asset. Specify it right, service it through DomeCare, and re-cover the membrane at end of life, and one structure delivers a decade or more of year-round income. For the wider cost picture across all sports, see our guide to how much an air dome costs.
About Covair Structures. Covair Structures Ltd has over 40 years’ experience in sports facility coverings, manufacturing air domes in the UK since 1982. We are the UK’s only manufacturer of polyethylene air domes and the exclusive UK distributor of DUOL premium domes, and we offer all three covering technologies – so we recommend the right one for your courts, not the only one we sell. For padel, that is usually a purpose-built framed structure. Talk to us about covering your padel courts.
