Foundry Padel is bringing a fast-growing racket sport to St. Johns

It’s not quite tennis, not quite squash — and it definitely isn’t pickleball.

You’d be forgiven for thinking pickleball’s reign as “that sport all your neighbors and their parents suddenly play” would’ve been infinite. The 2020s sports craze took the country by storm, with flurries of indoor courts popping up over the past few years in Portland alone.

But, sorry to say, a new racket sport may be coming into vogue.

Enter: Padel.

Invented in Acapulco, Mexico, in 1969, padel experienced a pickleball-like ascension across Europe during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s since built a comparably cultish following stateside — especially in Miami and New York — and has been described as the fastest-growing sport in the world.

And now, padel enthusiast Jake Killion is bringing the sport to Portland.

Killion moved to the Rose City in 2021, but he previously lived in London for more than a decade. He spent most of last year back in Europe, and while traveling throughout Germany, France, Spain and Italy, he suddenly found himself addicted to padel.

“I was playing almost every day, and then when I got back (to Portland), I was like, ‘Well, I’ll go play pickleball,” Killion said. “It kind of got me there, but it just wasn’t the real thing.”

Killion now leads the charge on bringing padel to Portland. He’s spent the past few months working on a massive facility in St. Johns, just across the way from Cathedral City Park — aptly dubbed Foundry Padel, a reference to the building’s steel foundry roots. Located at 8613 N. Crawford St., the former warehouse is about 12,000 square feet.

Once complete, the facility will include four indoor courts, social space and a bar serving local beer and wine, plus room for an upstairs fitness center.

A rendering featuring Foundry Padel, the 12,000-square-foot facility bringing padel — one of the world’s fastest-growing sports — to Portland.Courtesy of Jake Killion

Foundry Padel is sponsored by Adidas, which has its North American headquarters in Portland, and sports equipment manufacturer Wilson, Killion said. Wilson balls and rackets will be available for sale at the padel club.

Killion is gearing up for a late spring opening.

Padel games feature four players and always take place on turf courts. Tall glass walls surround each court, making the former steel foundry’s 50-foot ceilings the perfect site for a padel club.

Instead of stringed rackets, padel players use a firmer racket with holes, and the balls are sturdier than those used in pickleball — more akin to a smaller, less pressurized tennis ball.

“It’s not a wiffle ball and a cutting board,” Killion said. “It’s much more athletic looking.”

The sport is fast-paced and highly social, he said, predominantly played as a doubles game. To home in on this, Foundry Padel will use the app Playtomic to match players with partners of similar ability. Courts will run $60 per hour, or $15 per person.

Only 16 people can play on the courts at a time, but those waiting for a spot to free up will have the option to sip and mingle in Foundry Padel’s adjacent social spaces.

That area includes about 3,000 square feet of recharge and bar space, Killion said. There won’t be food — the team encourages guests to bring their own from local restaurants — but the padel club has partnered with nearby Occidental Brewing to supply beer, alongside Foundry’s own Oregon-made wine.

“Both of those will be available at very, very discounted prices,” he said, “as is the European way.”

Then, there’s room upstairs that Killion said could be used as a fitness center for stretching and athletic yoga.

A rendering featuring Foundry Padel, the 12,000-square-foot facility bringing padel — one of the world’s fastest-growing sports — to Portland.Courtesy of Jake Killion

Foundry Padel will soft open to friends and family this week as it awaits the delivery of its final two Adidas-sponsored courts from Spain, he said. After that, he hopes to host a grand opening by mid- to late-May.

One thing Killion knows for sure, though?

“It’s going to absolutely destroy poor pickleball,” he said.

The sport boasts a 92% return rate, according to Playtomic’s 2025 Global Padel Report — meaning, like Killion, once you start, you might not be able to quit.

(Here’s a tip to get you started: True padel players pronounce it “pah-DEL,” not to be confused with paddleboarding or similar water sports.)