New Recreational Facility Coming to Daphne
By Isabella Gomez
Blue RAM Media/Gulf Coast News
April 16, 2026
DAPHNE, Ala. A new recreation facility will soon take shape near the entrance to Bayfront Park on the site of the old Thomas Hospital Center.
On Monday, April 6, 2026, the Daphne City Council authorized Mayor Robin LeJeune to utilize a GoMESA grant agreement to be used toward turning the old Thomas Medical Center into a new recreation center.
The $27 million project will be built in a convenient location for our citizens and offer facilities for sports such as basketball and pickleball and walking tracks and space for offices, senior center rooms and concession areas, along with a repaved parking lot.
Mayor Robin LeJeune told GCM a new recreation center will help elevate local recreational opportunities within the community.
“We currently have zero indoor sports recreation for our recreational basketball leagues,” LeJeune said. “We have to use the schools and their gymnasiums. This would be a real boost to what we’re able to do recreationally for our kids here in Daphne.”
The site is in an area where there are a lot of residences, apartments, and businesses and close to where the new Daphne amphitheater is being built which is partially funded by a $7.2 million GoMESA grant, with construction expected to be completed next year.
Daphne was awarded $4 million in Gulf of Mexico Energy and Security Act (GoMESA) funds. The grant was first announced by Gov. Kay Ivey in September of last year.
The allocated GoMESA funds will be used to cover $1 million in engineering and design work, while $3 million will be used for the actual renovations and parking lot rework.
The project is still in the early design phase, with city council needing to approve a contract with a design firm, but LeJeune told GCM construction could begin as early as 2027.
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