A major piece of Windsor’s sports landscape is now in the hands of Anis Khan, who had the winning $2.5 million bid for Windsor Stadium, securing ownership of the historic facility. An avid squash enthusiast, Khan says his vision is to transform the site into a premier racquet sports destination and adding a couple of other racquet sports to the mix. “I have a passion for squash. I’ve been playing since I was a kid,” Khan told CTV News. “The intent was to make sure we serve the community, have the three sports together under one roof.” In December 2023, after 50 years, the Windsor Squash and Fitness Club closed its doors leaving many with no place to play, including Stefan Houbtchev who was a member of the junior program. “I think it’s just fantastic and I can’t wait to see what they’re going to do,” he said. Khan says after exploring other options around the city, Windsor Stadium made the most sense for a location. “There’s so many things that get involved with zoning, the soil testing, some environmental reports, and things like that. We don’t want to get involved into all that, so this was perfectly placed for something like racquet sports.” According to a design, a new 38,000 square foot building would replace the current grandstand and be home to not only squash, but pickleball and padel, a worldwide sport first played in 1968. “I love squash but big fan of padel,” said Houbtchev. “I think when people start to play it it’s going to catch on and it’s, really, a fun sport. It’s the perfect mix between tennis and squash.” Former Detroit Red Wings stars Henrik Zetterberg and Niklas Kronwall are part of a group that opened a padel facility in Sterling Heights, Mich. two years ago with some Windsorites heading over to play. The Windsor facility is going to have six to eight pickleball courts, four to five squash courts, and four for padel, which Khan feels gives racquet sports fans a perfect mix of games to play for all ages. The building will also have a gym and social area but will not take up the entirety of the park. “Because we don’t need four-and-a-half acres, we have proposed the city to buy two-and-a-half acres,” said Khan. A city of Windsor source told CTV News the city is waiting for a concrete proposal before making any decisions. Khan says if the city is not interested in the parcel, he will turn the building, laying it out east to west, so either the full north side or full south side of the property could be sold to someone else. “One could be for the housing. We don’t know yet or any other commercial use. At this point, we haven’t decided anything and whoever is the potential buyer they would like to do anything they want,” Khan said. City councillor Renaldo Agostino is excited to hear about the new build in his ward and is looking forward to discussions with Khan in the upcoming days. “It’s certainly an exciting project and to know that they do something brand new, it’s going to be even better and to know there’s an opportunity to potentially do some housing or reclaim part of the land again, it’s all great opportunities, but it’s just too soon to tell,” said Agostino.
