A more than century-old brass factory on Broad Street in Bristol, Connecticut could soon house something its original builders never imagined: eight indoor padel courts. A Southington couple is proposing to convert a little more than 25,000 square feet of the former Bristol Brass and Clock Co. industrial complex into Padel Connect CT, which would be the city's first padel center.
The project comes from Yaemish Rughoo and Jagdeep Rughoo, who are pursuing the venture through their company, Padel Connect CT LLC, according to the Hartford Courant. Bristol is currently weighing the company's zoning application, and if it clears that hurdle, the city's building department would then review the specific remodeling plans. The Bristol Zoning Commission has scheduled a public hearing for October 19 to review Special Permit Application #2575 and Site Plan Application #2576 for 575 Broad Street, seeking local authorization to operate a tennis or racquet club in an industrial and general business zone, per a notice published in the Hartford Courant's legal notices.
Mayor Ellen Zoppo-Sassu has already signaled support, telling the Courant that Padel Connect CT's concept is appealing. The proposed facility would total approximately 25,780 square feet and include four doubles courts, three children's courts, and one singles court, along with social and gathering spaces.
Why This Mill Building Fits the Bill
The industrial complex at 575 Broad Street isn't just old — it's also unusually tall inside, with 26-foot clear ceiling heights across more than 241,000 square feet of total building space, according to a LoopNet listing. That kind of clearance matters for padel, where lobs and court construction demand far more vertical room than a typical retail buildout. The 14-acre parcel contains four brick mill buildings constructed in 1915 totaling over 235,000 square feet, part of a $5.65 million purchase that Brooklyn-based Bristol NYCEB LLC, led by Ben Tyberg, made in February 2025, as reported by the Hartford Business Journal.
The site remains an active multi-tenant facility even as the padel proposal moves forward. Glass fabricator Glory Tempering Glass finalized a lease for 77,000 square feet of industrial space at 575 Broad Street in June, according to Traded, with the property managed and leased by Godin Property Brokers. That leaves the mill complex hosting light manufacturing alongside a proposed recreational tenant under the same roof.
A Parking Variance Still Stands in the Way
Before any renovation can move forward, Padel Connect CT LLC also needs relief from the city's parking requirements. The company submitted Application #3833 to the Bristol Zoning Board of Appeals requesting a variance to reduce the minimum required parking at 575 Broad Street from 149 spaces down to 110, according to filings with the City of Bristol. Municipal zoning codes set parking ratios for commercial racquet clubs based on court count and floor area, meaning the variance request is a necessary step before the eight-court buildout can proceed.
The Broad Street site carries its own layer of local history. Bristol Brass Corporation purchased 35 pre-cut kit homes from Aladdin Homes in 1916 to build a planned neighborhood for factory workers near its plant, according to Sears House Seeker, with Bristol Brass standing as one of the city's prominent early 20th-century manufacturers.
Bristol's Broader Bet on Recreation
The padel proposal lands amid a wider push by Bristol's city government toward recreational investment. In September, the City Council under Mayor Zoppo-Sassu voted unanimously to buy the 133-acre Chippanee Country Club for $4.75 million to preserve municipal recreational space, the Hartford Business Journal reported. Zoppo-Sassu has served as Bristol's first female mayor since 2017.
Connecticut law could also give the city tools to support the Broad Street conversion. Under the state's City and Town Development Act of 1975, Bristol can offer tax abatements and low-interest financing to stimulate redevelopment of industrial properties, according to city documents, a mechanism designed to incentivize non-manufacturing development outside enterprise zones.
Padel's Rapid Rise, By the Numbers
Padel Connect CT has described padel as the fastest-growing sport in the world, and national figures back up the enthusiasm. Padel was named the fastest-growing activity in the Sports & Fitness Industry Association's 2026 report, with participation increasing 14.5 percent in 2026 even as pickleball growth slowed to 1.3 percent in the first half of the year. The U.S. Padel Association projects 30,000 padel courts and 10 million players nationwide by 2030.
Those projections are a big leap from today's numbers. Padel currently counts a little more than 1 million players nationally, dwarfed by pickleball's 24.3 million and traditional tennis's 27.3 million, per the same figures cited in the Courant's report. Padel — often described as a racket sport combining squash, tennis, and badminton — has already built out at least 10 clubs across nine cities statewide, including indoor facilities in Newington, Branford, and inside the Stamford Town Center mall, according to PadelBrowser, marking a shift from the sport's early concentration in Connecticut's coastal southwestern corridor.
Padel Connect CT plans to offer court rentals, beginner programming, junior development, leagues, coaching, corporate events, and social and community space, operating the facility as a year-round recreational destination. The company has said the proposed facility will serve adults, children, families, schools, local employers, and community groups, with a stated focus on participation, health, inclusion, and repeat community engagement rather than operating solely as a private athletic club.
