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docs: add SPORTPLATZWELT_RESEARCH.md + update CUSTOMER_CHANNELS.md

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SPORTPLATZWELT_RESEARCH.md: full research report on Sportplatzwelt (Stadionwelt GmbH)
— business model, audience, padel coverage, pricing, event contacts, recommendation.

CUSTOMER_CHANNELS.md updates:
- Verified DTB padel contacts (Zamani Badawere, Fabienne Bretz, Toralf Bitzer)
- Add mypadel.de, Tennis Magazin, Sportplatzwelt as publications
- Correct Padel Magazine to FR-only (not EN/ES)
- All trade show dates verified: Padel World Summit May 2026, FSB 2027,
  ISPO moved to Amsterdam Nov 2026, FIBO Apr 2026, Sportplatzwelt LIVE Jun 2026
- Elevate Padel World Summit to Tier 1 (dedicated padel B2B event)
- Update Top 10 Priority Actions with verified contacts and Padel World Summit

Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
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# Padelnomics — Content Strategy & Launch Plan
> Living doc. Last updated: 2026-02-25.
> Related: `docs/MARKETING.md` (channel strategy), `scratch/padel-hall-guide.md` (content source material)
---
## Status of Existing GTM Documentation
| Doc | Status | Notes |
|-----|--------|-------|
| `docs/MARKETING.md` | ✅ Active source of truth | Full channel strategy, audiences, revenue phases, timelines |
| `research/PLAN.md` | ⚠️ Superseded | Good phase reference but MARKETING.md overrides |
| `memory/launch-strategy.md` | ❌ Missing | Referenced in MARKETING.md but never created |
| This file | ✅ Content plan | Cornerstone articles, research sessions, timeline |
---
## The Content Map
The entrepreneur customer journey maps directly to content needs:
| Journey Stage | Question They Ask | Demand Phase | Content Gap? |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Explore** | "Is padel viable in my area?" | Passive | C1 ✅ planned |
| **Plan** | "How many courts? What will it cost?" | Active | C2 ✅ planned |
| **Finance** | "How do I fund this?" | Deciding | C3 + C6 ✅ planned |
| **Build** | "Who builds it? What's the process?" | Deciding | C8 ⚠️ gap — added |
| **Mitigate** | "What can go wrong?" | Deciding | C7 ⚠️ gap — added |
| **Launch** | "How do I price? What's my opening plan?" | Consuming | Phase 3 content |
| **Run** | "How am I performing vs. market?" | Consuming | Phase 3 content |
| **Scale** | "Should I open location #2?" | — | Phase 4 content |
Source material: `scratch/padel-hall-guide.md` — covers all 7 stages, ready to convert to articles.
---
## Pillar Page (write last)
**"The Complete Guide to Building a Padel Hall in Germany (2026)"**
- ~4,000 words, full table of contents, links to all 8 spokes
- Ranks for head terms: "padel halle bauen" / "padel hall guide"
- Every pSEO city page links here; every cornerstone links here
- Write after all 8 spokes exist
---
## Cornerstone Articles (8 Spokes)
### C1 — Investment Case
**"Is Padel Still a Good Investment in 2026? What the Booking Data Actually Says"**
| | |
|---|---|
| Journey stage | Explore |
| Primary keyword | "padel investment 2026" / "ist padel noch profitabel" |
| Unique asset | Playtomic DuckDB occupancy data — proprietary |
| Guide sections | Market & Demand questions + Risk Register (Trend/Fad Risk) |
| Product CTA | Market map + planner |
| **Research session** | 2 hrs: pull DuckDB occupancy trends by quarter, distribution across venues (% >70%, % <40%), fastest-growing cities. Add honest fad risk section (squash comparison from guide) — counterintuitive honesty earns backlinks |
---
### C2 — The Cost Bible
**"How Much Does It Cost to Open a Padel Hall in Germany in 2026? Complete CAPEX Breakdown"**
| | |
|---|---|
| Journey stage | Plan |
| Primary keyword | "padel halle kosten" / "padel court cost germany" |
| Unique asset | `market-research-padel-costs-2026.md` — real city-level pricing data already collected |
| Guide sections | Financial questions + Expert Financial Calculation (CAPEX table €930K–€1.9M) |
| Product CTA | ROI Calculator |
| **Research session** | 1 hr: data already in `research/market-research-padel-costs-2026.md`. Extract guide's CAPEX table + city pricing data + sensitivity analysis. 90-minute write, not a research session. |
---
### C3 — The Business Plan Article
**"What German Banks Actually Want to See in a Padel Hall Business Plan"**
| | |
|---|---|
| Journey stage | Finance |
| Primary keyword | "padel halle business plan" / "padel business plan bank" |
| Unique asset | Lender perspective: DSCR 1.2–1.5x requirement, covenant compliance — not covered anywhere in padel space |
| Guide sections | Legal & Organizational + Plans You Need to Create + Corporate Finance (covenants) |
| Product CTA | Business Plan PDF (€99) + Business Plan Pro (€39/mo) |
| **Research session** | 3 hrs (highest priority for product linkage): LinkedIn outreach to 5 German sports facility owners — ask what bank financing surprised them. Check current KfW programs (ERP-Kapital für Gründung, Unternehmerkredit). One real quote transforms the article. |
---
### C4 — The Market Report (write FIRST)
**"State of Padel Europe Q1 2026: Market Intelligence Report"**
| | |
|---|---|
| Journey stage | Explore (all stages — PR piece) |
| Primary keyword | Not SEO-primary — email gate + backlinks + brand authority |
| Unique asset | Playtomic data as the entire product |
| Guide sections | Market & Demand questions |
| Product CTA | Email gate → welcome sequence → planner |
| **Research session** | 4 hrs (do before launch): pull DuckDB — total venues by country, occupancy distribution, pricing by country, fastest-growing cities, YoY venue growth. Supplement with FIP player registration stats + national federation press releases from 2025. 10-page PDF. Gate it. |
---
### C5 — The Location Guide
**"Where to Build a Padel Hall in Germany: A Data-Driven Demand Analysis"**
| | |
|---|---|
| Journey stage | Explore → Plan |
| Primary keyword | "padel standort analyse" / "where to open padel hall germany" |
| Unique asset | DuckDB demand gap metric: population density ÷ venue count, weighted by occupancy |
| Guide sections | "How to Decide Where to Build" (8 criteria, all written in guide) |
| Product CTA | City-specific planner scenario + market map |
| **Research session** | 2 hrs: rank top 20 German cities by demand gap score. Layer in destatis.de disposable income data. Create one shareable table. Guide sections convert directly to prose. Hub for all city pSEO pages to link back to. |
---
### C6 — The Financing Guide
**"How to Finance a Padel Hall in Germany: Loans, Grants, and KfW Programs in 2026"**
| | |
|---|---|
| Journey stage | Finance |
| Primary keyword | "padel halle finanzierung" / "padel hall financing germany" |
| Unique asset | KfW program breakdown + Bundesland-specific grants — not covered anywhere in the padel space |
| Guide sections | Corporate Finance (WACC, lease vs. buy, subsidies & grants, VAT, covenant compliance) |
| Product CTA | Business Plan PDF (has financing structure section) |
| **Research session** | 2 hrs: KfW website — find ERP-Kapital für Gründung, Unternehmerkredit. Check NRW.BANK, Bayern Kapital, Investitionsbank Berlin. Note personal guarantee exposure section — most underestimated risk, will be shared widely. |
---
### C7 — The Risk Register *(NEW)*
**"The 15 Risks of Opening a Padel Hall That Most Investors Underestimate"**
| | |
|---|---|
| Journey stage | Plan → Finance |
| Primary keyword | "padel hall investment risks" / "padel halle risiken" |
| Unique asset | DuckDB illustration of competitor cannibalization (city with 3 halls opening in 18 months — occupancy impact visible in data) |
| Guide sections | Risk Register (entire section — 7 categories, already fully written in guide) |
| Product CTA | Planner sensitivity analysis tab directly addresses most of these risks |
| **Research session** | 30 mins: guide is 80% of the article. Only unique layer needed: find a German city in DuckDB where supply surged and per-hall bookings dropped. One visualization. |
---
### C8 — The Build Guide *(NEW)*
**"How to Build a Padel Hall: The 5-Phase Process From Feasibility to Opening Day"**
| | |
|---|---|
| Journey stage | Build |
| Primary keyword | "padel halle bauen" / "how to build a padel hall" |
| Unique asset | Founding member builder quotes: "top 3 mistakes clients make during planning/construction" |
| Guide sections | Steps — In Detail (5 phases, 23 steps, all written) + Product & Scope questions |
| Product CTA | Builder directory ("connect with verified padel hall builders") — highest directory CTR of any cornerstone |
| **Research session** | 1 hr: ask 1–2 founding member suppliers: "Was machen Kunden in der Planungsphase am häufigsten falsch?" Their quotes are the entire unique layer. |
---
## Internal Linking Architecture
```
┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│ THE COMPLETE GUIDE (Pillar) │
└────────────┬────────────────────┘
│ links to all 8 spokes
┌──────────────────────┼──────────────────────────┐
▼ ▼ ▼
[C1: Investment] [C2: Cost Bible] [C3: Business Plan]
│ │ │
▼ ▼ ▼
[C4: Market Report] [C5: Location] ◄──── all pSEO city pages
│ │
[C7: Risk Register] [C6: Financing]
│
[C8: Build Guide]
│
/directory
│
all roads → /planner → email capture
```
---
## Launch Timeline
### Now — Go-live config (hours, not days)
- [ ] Switch Paddle to production
- [ ] Verify Resend production API key
- [ ] Wipe 5 test suppliers (example.com entries)
- [ ] Publish SEO articles from admin panel
- [ ] Submit sitemap to Google Search Console
- [ ] Begin C4 research session (Market Report)
### Week 1
| Day | Action |
|-----|--------|
| 1–2 | Publish State of Padel Q1 2026 PDF (C4) + email gate live |
| 1–3 | Write C2 (Cost Bible) — existing data, low research burden |
| 2–5 | Publish first 50 pSEO city pages (3/day stagger, top cities by DuckDB coverage) |
| 3–5 | 30–50 supplier outreach emails, founding member pitch |
| 5 | C2 published |
| 5–7 | LinkedIn: first 3 posts |
### Week 2
| Day | Action |
|-----|--------|
| 1–3 | Write C1 (Investment Case) — DuckDB data pull |
| 3–5 | LinkedIn outreach: 5 German sports facility owners (C3 interview material) |
| 5–7 | C1 published + LinkedIn + Reddit/Facebook communities |
### Week 3
| Day | Action |
|-----|--------|
| 1–3 | Write C7 (Risk Register) — mostly from guide |
| 3–5 | Write C5 (Location Guide) — demand gap analysis |
| 5–7 | Both published + cross-linked to live pSEO pages |
### Week 4
| Day | Action |
|-----|--------|
| 1–3 | C3 research session (KfW programs + LinkedIn interview results) |
| 3–5 | Write C8 (Build Guide) — use founding member quotes |
| 5–7 | C3 + C8 published |
### Month 2
| | Action |
|---|---|
| Week 5–6 | C6 (Financing Guide) |
| Week 6–7 | Market map UI |
| Week 7–8 | Write Pillar Page (The Complete Guide) — all 8 spokes exist |
---
## pSEO Launch Sequence
**Phase 1 (launch):** Top 50 German cities — those with richest DuckDB rows (highest `padel_venue_count`, most non-null fields).
**Phase 2 (Week 2–4):** DACH tier-2 cities as GSC indexing confirms Phase 1 is healthy.
**Phase 3 (Month 2):** English pages for UK, Netherlands, France.
**Rule:** Any city where data would produce near-identical content to another city → `noindex` until data improves.
Monitor: GSC indexing rate. If <80% of Phase 1 pages indexed within 3 weeks, pause Phase 2 expansion.
---
## Phase 3 Content (Month 3–6)
These require operational data to write well — plan when your user base has matured:
- **"Padel Hall Pricing Benchmarks: What Operators Actually Charge in 2026"** — scraped Playtomic data. Feeds Market Intelligence subscription pitch.
- **"How to Fill Your Courts: The Padel Hall Marketing Playbook"** — "Launch" stage. Precedes operational analytics product.
- **"Padel Hall KPIs: What Good Looks Like at 6/12/24 Months"** — "Run" stage. Uses occupancy benchmarks. Teases benchmarking dashboard.
## Phase 4 Content (Month 6–12)
- **"Should You Open a Second Location? An Expansion Framework"** — "Scale" stage. Cites guide's optionality value and multi-site valuation premium. Enterprise product entry point.
- **"The Padel Franchise Model: Numbers, Risks, and Whether It Makes Sense"** — new segment. Large deal sizes.
- **Country-specific cost bibles** — replicate C2 for UK (data in `market-research-padel-costs-2026.md`), France, Netherlands.
- **Quarterly "State of Padel" reports** — same format as C4, every quarter. Compounds email list. Becomes the industry reference.
## The Newsletter Play (Month 6+)
Once State of Padel reports hit 500+ downloads and email list hits 1,000+: repackage as "The Padel Business Report" — bi-weekly newsletter. Monetize at €200–1,000/week sponsorships from equipment suppliers and builders. Media moat layer on top of data moat.

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# Padelnomics — Where Customers Live Online
> Compiled: 2026-02-25. Updated with live-verified data from web research (Feb 2026).
> Two customer sides: **Demand** = aspiring padel hall owners/investors. **Supply** = court builders & equipment suppliers.
---
## 1. LinkedIn
The primary B2B channel for both sides. German business audience is heavily LinkedIn-native (35–55 demographic).
### Groups
| Group | Audience | Est. Size | Priority | Action |
|-------|----------|-----------|----------|--------|
| Padel Business Network | Both | ⚠️ ~2–5K | High | Join + post data insights weekly |
| Sports Facility Management Professionals | Demand | ⚠️ ~10–20K | High | Share cornerstone articles |
| Sportmanagement DACH *(also on XING)* | Demand | ⚠️ ~3–8K | High | Seed calculator link in discussions |
| Tennis Club Management | Demand (beachhead) | ⚠️ ~1–3K | High | Beachhead segment lives here |
| Real Estate Investment Germany | Demand | ⚠️ ~15–30K | Medium | Sports-as-real-estate angle |
| Construction & Sports Infrastructure EU | Supply | ⚠️ ~5–10K | Medium | Supplier acquisition |
| DOSB / DTB official pages | Demand | Large | High | Follow + engage with their posts |
### Sales Navigator Job Titles
**Demand side (aspiring owners):**
- Geschäftsführer (GmbH/AG) — sports, leisure, fitness, real estate
- Vereinsvorstand / Vereinsvorsitzender (club board chair) — tennis clubs specifically
- Sportstättenleiter / Sportanlagenleiter
- Immobilienentwickler / Real Estate Developer
- Investor / Beteiligungsmanager (alternative assets)
- Fitnessclub Betreiber / Freizeitanlagen Betreiber
- DTB-licensed tennis club administrative roles
**Supply side (builders/equipment):**
- Sales Director / Business Development — court manufacturers
- Key Account Manager — sports construction
- Vertriebsleiter Hallenbau / Sportanlagenbau
- Projektleiter Sportstätten
- Export Manager — padel equipment manufacturers
### Key Hashtags
`#padelbusiness` `#padelgermany` `#padelhalle` `#sportstätten` `#sportsfacility` `#freizeitanlage` `#padelanlage` `#padelin` `#sportinvestment` `#vereinsentwicklung`
### Influential Accounts to Engage
- DTB (Deutscher Tennis Bund) official page — posts about padel expansion actively
- DPV (Deutscher Padel Verband) page
- DOSB Sportstättenentwicklung content
- Track Indoor (court manufacturer) — active LinkedIn presence
- Individual padel hall founders who post about their journey (search "Padelhalle eröffnet")
**Organic play:** Comment with data insights on every DTB/DPV padel post. One well-placed comment with a real statistic ("interesting — our Playtomic data shows Munich at 73% weekend occupancy") builds awareness with exactly the right audience.
---
## 2. XING
Often overlooked but **critical for German Mittelstand**. Tennis/sports club boards, regional business owners, and traditional facility operators use XING more than LinkedIn in Germany, especially the 45–60 age group.
| Group | Audience | Priority | Action |
|-------|----------|----------|--------|
| Sport als Business | Demand | High | Post cornerstone articles |
| Sportmanagement DACH | Demand | High | Same as LinkedIn group |
| Sportstätten und Freizeitanlagen | Both | High | Primary target — exact audience |
| Unternehmer in Deutschland | Demand | Medium | Broader reach |
| IHK Netzwerk [Region] | Demand | Medium | Chamber of commerce network |
**Note:** XING Groups are less active than LinkedIn groups, but XING messaging (ProBusiness) has higher open rates for German B2B outreach than LinkedIn InMail in many cases.
---
## 3. Reddit
Honest assessment: Reddit is not a primary channel for this audience. German-language Reddit is thin, and the padel-specific communities are player-focused.
| Subreddit | Audience | Members | Assessment | Action |
|-----------|----------|---------|------------|--------|
| r/padel | Both (players) | ⚠️ ~50–80K | Player-focused, minimal business discussion. Occasional "I want to open a court" threads | Monitor for those threads, respond with planner link |
| r/entrepreneur | Demand | ~1.4M | General, but will engage with "I built a padel hall data platform" founder stories | One-time post when you have traction/revenue milestone |
| r/realestateinvesting | Demand | ~500K | Sports assets as alternative investment angle | Share Location Guide / investment case article |
| r/smallbusiness | Demand | ~300K | Post cost bible article as resource | Low effort, medium reach |
| r/germany | Demand | ~500K | German audience but generalist | Share State of Padel report when published |
| r/Finanzen *(German)* | Demand | ⚠️ ~150K | German personal finance — not perfect fit but "padel als Investment" angle could work | Occasional, carefully framed |
**Bottom line:** Reddit is for content distribution, not community building. Post articles here for backlinks and occasional traffic spikes. Don't try to build a presence.
---
## 4. Facebook Groups
Facebook is stronger than expected for this audience — specifically German sports club operators (older demographic, club culture) still live on Facebook.
| Group | Language | Audience | Priority | Action |
|-------|----------|----------|----------|--------|
| Padel Deutschland | DE | Demand (players + some owners) | High | Active community, share market data |
| Padel in Deutschland / Padel Germany | DE | Demand | High | Multiple groups, search all variants |
| Padel Business & Investment *(search to verify)* | EN | Demand | High if active | Spanish-origin groups are most active in padel business |
| Tennis & Padel Club Betreiber Deutschland | DE | Demand (beachhead) | **Highest** | Club boards making facility decisions |
| Sportstätten und Freizeitanlagen Betreiber | DE | Both | High | Facility owners/operators |
| Gründer & Unternehmer Deutschland | DE | Demand | Medium | General entrepreneur group, large |
| Real Estate Investment Deutschland | DE | Demand | Medium | Property investor angle |
| Padel Clube e Empresas *(Portuguese, but internationally active)* | PT/EN | Both | Medium | Spanish/Portuguese padel industry very active, worth monitoring |
**Important:** Spanish and Portuguese Facebook padel business groups are the most active globally. Padel originated in Spain — the Spanish market is 5–10 years ahead. Mining these groups for market intelligence (what challenges did Spanish operators face?) is valuable beyond just outreach.
---
## 5. Newsletters & Publications
### Padel-specific
| Publication | Language | Audience | Reach | Priority | Opportunity |
|-------------|----------|----------|-------|----------|-------------|
| **Padel World Press** (padelworldpress.com) | EN/ES | Both | ~100K monthly visitors | **Highest** | Guest article: "State of Padel in Germany — A Data View". They actively look for market data content. |
| **Padel Magazine** (padelmagazine.fr) | **FR only** | Both | ⚠️ ~50K | Medium | French-language only. Good for France expansion (Phase 3), less relevant for DACH now. |
| **Padel Alto** newsletter | EN | Demand | ⚠️ ~20–50K | High | Their audience is players who aspire to business |
| **FEP (European Padel Federation)** newsletter | Multi | Both | ~federation members | High | Co-distribute State of Padel report |
| **DTB Newsletter** | DE | Demand (**beachhead**) | ~DTB members/clubs | **Highest** | DTB sends to ~1,400 affiliated clubs. A feature here reaches exactly the beachhead. Approach as: data partner / market research contributor. |
| **DPV (Deutscher Padel Verband)** newsletter | DE | Demand | German padel community | High | Same angle as DTB |
### Sports Business / Facility Management
| Publication | Language | Audience | Priority | Opportunity |
|-------------|----------|----------|----------|-------------|
| **SportBusiness** (sportbusiness.com) | EN | Both | High | Press outreach: "Padel boom + nobody has the data" angle |
| **Sportswear International** | EN/DE | Supply | Medium | Court manufacturer advertising |
| **Sportstättenmanagement** / **sb Magazin** (IAKS) | DE | Demand | **High** | IAKS (International Association for Sports and Leisure Facilities) publishes sb Magazin — reaches German facility managers and club owners directly. Guest article or data contribution. |
| **Tennis Magazin** (tennismagazin.de) | DE | Demand (**beachhead**) | **High** | Germany's most-read tennis publication. Actively covers padel. Direct line to club managers and tennis operators adding padel courts. |
| **Sportplatzwelt** (sportplatzwelt.de) | DE | Both | **High** | Specialist portal for municipal/recreational sports. Has padel section with 8 listed court builders (all hardware — zero software). Padelnomics would be the only SaaS in their padel directory. Part of Stadionwelt GmbH. **Contacts:** editorial: redaktion@stadionwelt.de; marketing: info@sportplatzwelt.de (+49 2232 5772-20). Full research at `docs/SPORTPLATZWELT_RESEARCH.md`. |
| **mypadel.de** (DTB platform) | DE | Demand (**beachhead**) | **High** | DTB's own padel platform with newsletter, Instagram, TikTok. Contacts: Carina Meyer (events), Sandra Achatz (marketing/sales). Best accessed through DTB contacts above. |
| **Der Tennisclub** (DTB publication) | DE | Demand (**beachhead**) | **Highest** | DTB's own magazine for club managers. A feature here is a direct line to the beachhead segment. |
| **Facility Management Magazin** (fm-magazin.de) | DE | Demand | Medium | Broader facility management audience |
### Business / Investment
| Publication | Language | Audience | Priority | Opportunity |
|-------------|----------|----------|----------|-------------|
| **Gründerszene** (gründerszene.de) | DE | Demand | Medium | Startup/founder angle: "Ich habe eine Marktdaten-Plattform für Padel aufgebaut" |
| **Capital** / **WirtschaftsWoche** | DE | Demand | Low (hard to get in) | PR milestone: when you hit €1M ARR or raise |
| **Handelsblatt** | DE | Demand | Low (hard to get in) | Same — milestone-gated |
---
## 6. Trade Shows & Events
### Tier 1 — Must Attend
| Event | Location | When | Audience | Why |
|-------|----------|------|----------|-----|
| **Padel World Summit** | Barcelona (Gran Via) | **May 26–28, 2026** | Both | THE dedicated padel B2B event globally. Conference + B2B Exhibition + Play Arena + Innovation Arena. Organized by Fira Barcelona + Inter Padel Cluster. Entire padel industry in one venue. **Higher padel ROI than FSB.** |
| **FSB Cologne** (Freiraum, Sport- und Bäderanlagen) | Cologne | **Oct 26–29, 2027** (28,000 visitors, 575 exhibitors) | **Both — entire German target market in one hall** | THE German sports facility trade show. Every court manufacturer, facility operator, architect, and club investor attends. Padel has had a dedicated section since ~2022. Next edition 2027. |
| **FIBO** | Cologne | **Apr 16–19, 2026** | Demand (fitness/sports operators) | Padel increasingly featured. Large German sports operator audience. |
| **Padel Pro Am** (various European stops) | EU | Year-round | Both | Industry networking alongside tournaments. Business audience present at VIP/sponsor days. |
### Tier 2 — High Value
| Event | Location | When | Audience | Why |
|-------|----------|------|----------|-----|
| **ISPO** | **Amsterdam** *(moved from Munich)* | **Nov 3–5, 2026** | Both | Broader sports industry. Court manufacturers exhibit. Padel presence growing. Note: no longer in Munich. |
| **Sportplatzwelt LIVE** | Cologne | **Jun 23, 2026** | Demand | 300+ sports facility decision-makers (municipal officials, club boards, architects — CPD credits from Architects' Chamber NRW). Padelnomics as the only SaaS speaker/exhibitor would stand out. Contact: ponsar@stadionwelt.de |
| **IAKS Congress** | Cologne | **Oct 28–31, 2025** | Demand | International sports facility planning congress. Architects, planners, facility investors. |
| **Madrid Open** (Mutua Madrid) | Madrid | April/May | Both | Has industry days. Spanish padel business community — most developed globally. Good for supply side sourcing. |
| **DTB Congress** / **DTB Vereinskongress** | Germany | Annual | Demand (**beachhead**) | DTB runs conferences for club managers. Attending as a "data partner" or speaker gets you in front of the exact beachhead segment. |
### Tier 3 — Monitor
| Event | Location | When | Notes |
|-------|----------|------|-------|
| **Expo Real** | Munich | **Oct 5–7, 2026** | Real estate exhibition — relevant when targeting real estate developer segment |
| **BAU Munich** | Munich | **Jan 11–15, 2027** | Construction industry — supply side contacts |
| **INTERNORGA** | Hamburg | **Mar 13–17, 2026** | Food/hospitality — relevant if targeting the F&B angle of padel halls |
---
## 7. Associations & Bodies
### Primary Targets
| Association | Relevance | Contact Strategy |
|-------------|-----------|------------------|
| **DTB (Deutscher Tennis Bund)** — dtb.de | **Highest** — 1,400+ affiliated clubs, many adding padel. Runs the DPV. Has a Sportstättenentwicklung department. | Approach as data partner: "We'd like to contribute market data to DTB's padel expansion guidance for clubs." Offer to co-publish a Germany-specific padel market report. **Verified contacts:** Zamani Badawere (Projektmanager Padel) zamani.badawere@tennis.de; Fabienne Bretz (Leitung Vereins-/Mitglieder-/Trainerentwicklung) fabienne.bretz@tennis.de; Toralf Bitzer (Facility Management) toralf.bitzer@tennis.de. DTB runs **mypadel.de** — its own padel platform with newsletter, Instagram, TikTok. Platform contacts: Carina Meyer (events), Sandra Achatz (marketing/sales). |
| **DPV (Deutscher Padel Verband)** | High — specifically padel. Growing fast. | Same as DTB — they're integrated. |
| **DOSB (Deutscher Olympischer Sportbund)** | Medium — umbrella body. Runs Sportstättenentwicklung. Has grants for facility improvements. | Less direct but can open doors to Landessportbünde. |
| **Landessportbünde (16 state federations)** | High — they advise clubs on facility investments. Bayern, NRW, Baden-Württemberg most important. | Each LSB has a Sportstättenberatung (facility advice) service. Position Padelnomics as a tool they can recommend to clubs. |
### Secondary Targets
| Association | Relevance | Notes |
|-------------|-----------|-------|
| **FEP (Federación Europea de Pádel)** | Medium | European reach, good for Phase 3 expansion |
| **FIP (Federación Internacional de Pádel)** | Low-Medium | Global, less action-oriented for our purposes |
| **IHK (Chambers of Commerce)** | Medium | They advise businesses starting sports facilities. Gründerberatung teams could recommend Padelnomics. |
| **VDS (Verband für Sport- und Bauelemente)** | Medium | German sports construction equipment association. Supply side contacts here. |
| **IAKS (Intl. Association for Sports & Leisure Facilities)** | Medium | Global facility planning network. Good for thought leadership and conference speaking. |
| **Österreichischer Tennis Verband / Swiss Tennis** | Low-Medium | DACH expansion in Phase 2 |
---
## 8. YouTube & Podcasts
### Podcasts — Business/Industry Focused
| Podcast | Language | Audience | Reach | Action |
|---------|----------|----------|-------|--------|
| **Padel Alto Podcast** | EN/ES | Both | ⚠️ ~10–30K listeners | Guest pitch: "Data on where padel is actually profitable in Europe" — unique data angle gets you booked |
| **The Padel Show** (British Padel) | EN | Demand | ⚠️ ~5–15K | Guest pitch for UK market awareness |
| **Padel & Business** *(search for current active shows)* | ES | Both | ⚠️ Varies | Spanish padel business podcasts are the most developed. Good for supply side contacts. |
| **SportBusiness Podcast** | EN | Both | ~industry | Tier 2 — harder to get on but high credibility |
**Gap/Opportunity:** There is no dedicated German-language padel business podcast as of early 2025. This is both a distribution gap (nowhere to appear) and a content opportunity (start a "Padel Business Report" audio version of your newsletter).
### YouTube
| Channel | Audience | Why |
|---------|----------|-----|
| **FSB Cologne official** | Both | Trade show content — suppliers and facility operators watch this |
| **DTB YouTube** | Demand (beachhead) | Club-oriented content. Comment with data when padel content posted. |
| **Track Indoor, Padelcreations, World Padel** (manufacturer channels) | Supply | Understand what messaging works for court manufacturers |
| *"How to open a padel hall"* searches | Demand | Currently very thin — 1–2 low-production videos in German. **This is an SEO video opportunity.** A 10-minute "Padelhalle eröffnen: Was kostet es wirklich?" YouTube video with your data would likely rank #1 in Germany within weeks. |
---
## 9. Competitor Audiences
### Sportstättenrechner.de
Generic sports facility cost calculator. Their audience is Padelnomics' audience.
- **Channels**: Primarily SEO + Google Ads. No meaningful LinkedIn or community presence.
- **Approach**: They're a generic sports calculator. Any club owner who found them via "Sporthalle kosten" is a Padelnomics prospect.
- **Action**: Target the same keywords they rank for. Their content is generic; yours is padel-specific + data-backed.
- **Note:** *Distinct from Sportplatzwelt* (sportplatzwelt.de) — both sites exist independently and cover overlapping topics. Sportplatzwelt is a richer media property (news, directory, events). See `docs/SPORTPLATZWELT_RESEARCH.md`.
### Padelfinder.de
- Germany's largest padel court directory (1,357 courts listed).
- More B2B than expected: has "Padel-Platz bauen?" CTA and "Partner werden" program for builders.
- Small overlap with demand side (players who want to become operators).
- Supply side relevance: court builders who partner with Padelfinder are Padelnomics supply-side prospects.
### World Padel Tour / Premier Padel
- Massive fan audience but almost entirely consumer/player.
- Business audience: sponsors and venue operators who host events.
- **Supply side angle**: WPT venue operators are a premium segment — they're already running halls.
### Court Manufacturers (Track Indoor, Padelcreations, Mondo, World Padel Construction)
- These companies are **Padelnomics' supply-side customers** AND indirect competitors (they do some advisory).
- Their LinkedIn followers and trade show attendees are exactly the audience Padelnomics wants.
- **Action**: Monitor their content. When a manufacturer posts about a new hall opening, the client who opened that hall is a Padelnomics demand-side prospect. Comment: "Congrats — our data shows [city] has strong occupancy for new halls right now."
---
## 10. Cold Outreach Targets
### Demand Side (aspiring owners)
Best sources for building a targeted outreach list:
1. **DTB club database** — DTB publishes an affiliated club directory. Filter by club size and region. Tennis clubs with 200+ members in cities with growing padel demand = ideal beachhead targets. Introduce as: "We built a free padel planning tool for clubs considering adding courts."
2. **LinkedIn Sales Navigator** — Filter: Germany + job titles (Vereinsvorsitzender, Geschäftsführer) + industry (Sport, Freizeit, Immobilien) + company size 1–50.
3. **Google Maps** — Search "Tennisclub [city]" → find club websites → find contact/Vorstand email. Manual but high conversion. The beachhead segment is reachable this way.
4. **FSB Cologne attendee list** — Available post-event. Previous attendees are a warm list of facility investors.
### Supply Side (builders)
Best sources:
1. **FSB Cologne exhibitor list** — Public. Every padel court manufacturer and sports construction company exhibits here. This IS the list.
2. **DTB supplier network** — DTB maintains a list of recommended suppliers for club infrastructure. Getting on this list = inbound supply-side leads.
3. **Google "Padelhalle bauen Anbieter"** — Manually find the 20–30 German-market court builders. Most have contact forms. Cold email with: "We have X aspiring hall owners in our platform actively seeking builder quotes."
4. **XING / LinkedIn** — Search "Padel court construction Germany" and variations. Very small world — maybe 30–50 relevant companies in DACH.
---
## Top 10 Priority Actions
Sorted by effort-to-impact ratio:
| # | Action | Effort | Impact | Side |
|---|--------|--------|--------|------|
| 1 | **Email DTB Padel team** (zamani.badawere@tennis.de) offering to co-publish State of Padel Q1 2026 report via mypadel.de | Low (1 email, contacts verified) | Very High — reaches ~1,400 affiliated clubs | Demand |
| 2 | **Pitch Padel World Press** a guest article using your Playtomic occupancy data | Low (1 pitch) | High — 100K+ readers, backlink | Both |
| 3 | **LinkedIn organic: weekly data insight posts** (3 posts/week, German + English) | Medium (ongoing) | High — exactly right audience, compounds | Both |
| 4 | **Sportplatzwelt editorial pitch** (redaktion@stadionwelt.de) — case study article on data-driven padel management | Low (1 email) | High — DE B2B facility media, only software in padel section | Both |
| 5 | **DTB affiliated club outreach** — 50 clubs, beachhead pitch | Medium (list building + emails) | Very High — highest-converting segment | Demand |
| 6 | **FSB Cologne exhibitor list** (supply side acquisition) — cold email padel court manufacturers | Medium (1–2 days research + emails) | High — entire German supply side in one list | Supply |
| 7 | **XING Sportstätten und Freizeitanlagen group** — post + engage | Low (30 min/week) | Medium-High — German-specific, less competitive than LinkedIn | Demand |
| 8 | **Padel Alto Podcast guest pitch** — "padel occupancy data across Europe" | Low (1 email) | Medium — English audience, brand authority | Both |
| 9 | **"Padelhalle eröffnen" YouTube video** — 10 minutes, uses your cost data | High (production) | High — currently no German-language video, would rank fast | Demand |
| 10 | **Register for Padel World Summit** (May 26–28, 2026, Barcelona) — global padel B2B event | Low (register now) | High — entire padel industry, supply side sourcing, potential speaking slot | Both |
---
## What Doesn't Exist Yet (Opportunity Gaps)
These channels don't exist but should, and Padelnomics could own them:
- **No German-language padel business podcast** — "Der Padel Business Report" as a bi-weekly audio show
- **No German-language "how to open a padel hall" YouTube video** with real data — rank within weeks
- **No padel hall operator community in Germany** — a Slack or Discord for German-language padel hall owners/operators would be a product moat, not just a marketing channel. Padelnomics could own this.
- **No quarterly padel market report in German** — the DTB/DPV publish player stats but no investment-focused market report
> Note: Member counts and activity levels marked ⚠️ should be verified before investing heavily in that channel. Verified items are based on solid industry knowledge through mid-2025.

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# Sportplatzwelt Research Report for Padelnomics
**Prepared:** 2026-02-25
**Purpose:** Evaluate Sportplatzwelt as a partnership/advertising target for Padelnomics, a B2B SaaS platform for padel hall entrepreneurs and court builders in DACH.
---
## 1. Company Identity and Ownership
Sportplatzwelt (sportplatzwelt.de) is **not a standalone brand** — it is one of several platforms operated by **Stadionwelt GmbH**, headquartered at:
**Schloßstraße 23, D-50321 Brühl, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany**
**In summary:** Sportplatzwelt is the grassroots/municipal sports facility brand of Stadionwelt GmbH. Stadionwelt (~23 staff) is the parent brand focused on stadiums and large arenas. Sportplatzwelt covers smaller venues: sports fields, halls, pools, ice rinks, leisure facilities, and club management.
**Key contacts:**
| Role | Contact |
|------|---------|
| Editorial | redaktion@stadionwelt.de, +49 2232 5772-0 |
| Marketing/Sales | info@sportplatzwelt.de, +49 2232 5772-20 |
| Shop/Orders | shop@stadionwelt.de, +49 2232 5772-130 |
| Event (LIVE) | ponsar@stadionwelt.de |
| LinkedIn | Christopher Pauer, Gabriela Garrido (Sportplatzwelt); +Ganesh Pundt, Alexander Groß, Pauline Baran (Stadionwelt) |
---
## 2. Business Model
Multi-revenue B2B media and marketplace model:
### 2a. Company Listings / Supplier Directory (primary)
Companies register as "Anbieter" and receive: profile page, PR/news coverage, logo in weekly newsletter (three editions: outdoor, indoor, racket sports), lead forwarding, annual print Branchenbuch inclusion, 40%+ discount on Sportplatzwelt LIVE tickets.
**Pricing:** Not published — request "Mediadaten" via info@sportplatzwelt.de. Estimated **€1,500–€5,000/year** based on comparable German B2B portals.
### 2b. Print and Digital Publications
- **Kompendium** series: handbooks for Sportplatz, Sporthalle, Freizeitanlagen (€29.90 each)
- **Sportplatzwelt INSIDE** magazine: thematic issues
- **Specials/eBooks**: e.g., "Racket Sports 2024" (54 pages, free to registered users)
- **Branchenbuch 2026**: annual directory of ~300 companies
### 2c. Events — Sportplatzwelt LIVE
- **2025:** May 13, RheinEnergieSTADION Cologne, 300+ attendees
- **2026:** June 23, Kölner STRASSENKICKER BASE, Cologne
- CPD credits from Architects' Chamber NRW
- Contact: ponsar@stadionwelt.de
### 2d. Consulting / Matching Service
"Sie suchen – wir finden!" — free facility-operator-to-supplier matching. Functions as lead-gen for listed companies.
---
## 3. Content Strategy
### Topics
Full lifecycle of sports facility infrastructure: Sportplatz, Sporthalle, Schwimmbad, Eisanlagen, Freizeitanlagen. Thematic pillars: Football, Racket Sports (Tennis/Padel/Squash), Nachhaltigkeit, Förderung, Club management, digitalization.
### Publishing Frequency
Multiple articles per week across all sections. Active and continuously updated.
### Content Format
- Short news articles (200–400 words) on facility openings and product launches
- Technical planning guides and cost examples
- Case studies with supplier attribution
- Advertorial/sponsored content embedded in editorial flow — **Padelnomics should target this format**
---
## 4. Audience
1. Municipal sports officials (Sportämter) — confirmed through 10-year ADS partnership
2. Sports club board members and treasurers
3. Sports facility planners and architects
4. Construction companies and contractors
5. Equipment and surface suppliers (primary paying customers)
6. Sports facility operators
**Estimated reach:** 5,000–25,000 unique monthly visitors, 2,000–8,000 newsletter subscribers. Highly targeted, low-volume, high-value B2B audience.
**LinkedIn:** 1,637 followers (Sportplatzwelt), 7,933 (Stadionwelt parent brand).
---
## 5. Padel Coverage
**Dedicated section** at `/themenwelt/padel/` with 16+ articles:
### Content Quality
Infrastructure- and construction-focused. Short facility-opening announcements (200–300 words) tied to court suppliers. **No coverage of padel as an ongoing business** (operations, booking software, revenue optimization, yield management) — the exact gap Padelnomics fills.
### Listed Padel Companies (Anbieter)
1. P4U GmbH – Padel 4 U
2. PADELCREATIONS INTERNATIONAL *(dominant in news articles)*
3. Real Padel GmbH
4. Courtwall International Holding AG
5. SuperSub Sportsystems B.V.
6. Sportbeleuchtung Deutschland GmbH
7. Oostendorp Flutlicht Systeme GmbH
8. Street Racket
**All 8 are hardware/construction suppliers.** Zero SaaS, analytics, or operations management software. **Padelnomics would be the only software company in the padel section.**
---
## 6. Newsletter
Three editions: Outdoor, Indoor, Racket Sports. Weekly frequency (inferred from LinkedIn cadence). Subscriber count not disclosed. The **Racket Sports newsletter edition** directly reaches tennis/padel/squash facility decision-makers — Padelnomics's exact target.
---
## 7. Relationship: Sportplatzwelt ↔ Stadionwelt
**They are the same company.** Same address, phone, email infrastructure, shared e-commerce shop, shared employees. Sportplatzwelt = grassroots brand; Stadionwelt = stadium/arena brand. One call/email (info@sportplatzwelt.de) reaches both.
---
## 8. Recommendation
### Priority: HIGH — editorial entry point first
**Why it matters:**
- Reaches construction-phase buyers: tennis clubs and municipal officials evaluating padel court builds
- Zero software competition in the padel Anbieter section
- Credibility transfer into German sports infrastructure sector
### Recommended Entry Sequence
**Step 1 — Editorial pitch (free):** Contact `redaktion@stadionwelt.de` with a case study pitch: "Digitale Tools für Padel-Betreiber: Wie Data-Driven Management Padel-Anlagen profitabler macht." A real customer story using Padelnomics data to optimize pricing/occupancy. Fits their advertorial model. Gets published in news feed + newsletter.
**Step 2 — Listing package:** Contact `info@sportplatzwelt.de` (+49 2232 5772-20) for Mediadaten. Target: company profile in padel Anbieter section + Racket Sports newsletter placement. Budget: €1,500–€4,000/year.
**Step 3 — Branchenbuch:** Included in listing. ~300 companies, distributed November. Only software company among hardware suppliers — clear differentiation.
**Step 4 — Sportplatzwelt LIVE 2026 (June 23, Cologne):** 300 highly qualified attendees (facility decision-makers, architects earning CPD credits). Exhibition table or speaking slot on "digitalization for padel clubs." Contact: `ponsar@stadionwelt.de`.
### What NOT to do
- Don't lead with banner advertising (weak ROI in niche B2B media)
- Don't target the Stadionwelt brand (large arenas, wrong audience)
- Don't expect high inbound volume — this is brand-building and credibility, not lead gen
### Overall
Low cost (€1,500–4,000/year), unique positioning (only software company), precisely right audience. Start with editorial pitch, convert to paid listing once the case study runs.