Ignite Padel is roughly doubling its Speke site this month, taking it from 10 courts to 17 and putting it on course to become the largest padel venue in the UK.

The Merseyside operator’s Speke venue, near Liverpool John Lennon Airport, opened in December 2025 with six indoor courts and four covered outdoor courts. The expansion under way now adds seven more courts and takes the footprint from 27,500 to 56,000 square feet – more than double the original size. Ignite has targeted completion for August 2026, and the venue has continued operating through the building work.

Why this expansion matters

Ignite already runs three North West sites – West Derby in Liverpool, Cheshire Oaks, and Speke – and has built a following at each around coaching, social sessions, and regular events alongside standard court hire. Speke was designed from the start as the flagship: a viewing gallery, coffee lounge, and championship-standard courts aimed at players who wanted proper indoor padel without a trip to Manchester.

The scale of the new build goes well beyond adding courts. Alongside the seven extra courts, the plans include an elite viewing gallery built for tournament matchplay, a restaurant from a healthy-eating partner, and a wellness centre with a 20-capacity sauna, 20-capacity steam room, and six-capacity ice bath. Parking is increasing from 30 spaces to around 130 – a sign Ignite expects the expanded site to pull in significantly more players than the current one does.

Is Speke now the UK’s largest padel venue?

Not yet – the expansion is still under way. Once finished, its 17 courts would overtake Rocket Padel Bristol’s 14 as the UK’s largest padel site.

That is the claim Ignite is making, and the numbers back it up if the build finishes as planned. Rocket Padel Bristol, at St Anne’s Park, currently holds that title with 14 courts – 12 doubles courts and two singles courts. Speke’s 17 courts would put it ahead by a clear margin.

Court count is one measure among several, and other operators are expanding too – Powerleague, Padium, and independent groups all have projects in the pipeline across the UK. On courts alone, though, Speke would be the new benchmark once the expansion is finished and open to players.

What it means for Merseyside and Cheshire players

For anyone already playing at Speke, the near-term effect is a bigger, busier site with more availability once the extra courts open – useful in a region where peak-time slots at popular venues fill quickly. The elite-standard courts and viewing gallery also make Speke a plausible host for FIP or national-level competition, which would bring a different calibre of event to Merseyside than the region has seen before.

It also cements Ignite’s position as the dominant operator in the North West. The company has already used its Speke site to reach beyond its usual audience – two courts at Creamfields 2026 mark padel’s first appearance at a major UK music festival, with Speke pitched as the natural next step for festival-goers who want to keep playing. A larger flagship venue gives that pipeline somewhere bigger to land.

For a full picture of where else to play in the city, the Liverpool padel guide covers Ignite Speke alongside Liverpool Cricket Club and the floating courts at Princes Dock, with pricing and booking details for each.

The bigger picture

Speke’s expansion is a useful marker for how fast UK padel investment is moving. A venue that opened with 10 courts eight months ago is adding seven more before its first anniversary – a pace that would have been unthinkable for most UK sports facilities a few years ago. Whether Speke holds the “largest in the UK” title for long is another question. With Powerleague, The Padel Club, and others all expanding, this is unlikely to be the last time that record changes hands in 2026.