A world of activities fit under one roof at DLCRA’s new Southern Pines indoor facility

Editor’s note: This story is among features in the newly-published 2026 edition of Laurens Living magazine, now available at The Courier Herald and other local businesses.

What can you do with 52,000 square feet? 

As it would turn out, a lot, as the Dublin-Laurens County Recreation Authority, with help from local residents and out-of-town guests, is learning in the process of exploring all the potential uses for its brand new indoor athletic facility at Southern Pines. 

The massive building, recently constructed on the western corner of the sprawling complex, is the newest of many sparkling jewels in the crown of a parks and rec facility that – in the 25 years since its construction in the early 2000s – has grown to become the envy of its peers across Georgia. 

It already had about anything you could ask for between baseball, softball, football and soccer fields, pickleball courts, an ag and expo center, walking tracks, a water park and a playground, which together draw in the tens of thousands of annual visitors from Dublin-Laurens County, and out of town. 

This new feature, in itself, will multiply that range of possibilities, and the park’s local economic impact, another tenfold. 

“This thing has opened up so many doors for us,” said DLCRA executive director Brian Mallette. “And there is no other facility like it.” 

The building has a variety of regular occupants, but its primary tenant – more so than any other part of the complex – is the general public, which has full, free access to it every day of the week. 

Anytime a portion of the building isn’t booked, which is only on occasion, anyone is free to simply show up and use it for pretty much any activity that fits within the rules and operating hours. 

Patrons, from youth to seniors and all in between, who’ve spent time there so far have found a lot to love about its offerings, and all-day availability. 

“What I like most is the facility as a whole,” said Gerald Phillips, a regular among the gym’s basketball-playing faithful. “It’s the climate control, everything. Even the field, people utilize it to stretch, they do speed and agility, you’ve got the batting cages up top, you can do anything in here. I feel like overall, it’s just the whole facility, but mainly the time frame, 8-8 is cool.”

There are varying levels of traffic at different times of day, but depending on whether school is out or in, you can usually find any number of activities going on at once during a random visit. 

Though a bulk of its walk-up users are tied to the sports of basketball, baseball, softball, soccer and football that it was designed for, the new building has a world of other practical applications. 

“You’ll see, in the afternoon, kids playing with Barbie dolls in one spot and kicking a soccer ball in another spot, and kids just randomly doing their own thing, playing kickball,” said DLCRA facility director Sheila Giles. 

In the mornings, especially when it’s rainy or cold outside, there’s a good chance you’ll run into some local senior adults who come inside to walk and socialize. 

No matter when you stop by, it’s a safe bet there will be someone around the basketball courts, where guests – day to day – are either shooting or running games almost constantly. 

You might also happen by during a fitness class or group sports lesson taking place somewhere in the facility. 

During afternoons, the many things going on in different corners – and the families of participants who are often hanging out either watching or finding other ways to enjoy themselves – usually have the place buzzing. 

The space, which doubles as a valuable retreat from the elements in many cases where needed, will house most of the DLCRA’s indoor-based rec sports and activities. It’s also an event venue rentable for everything from small parties to large functions that’s attracted plenty of conventions and tournaments of its own. 

The formal and informal activity options it’s making available to local youth and young adults, year-round, should also do a lot to dispel the widely-believed myth that there’s nothing in Dublin for kids to do.

But even that is still only scratching the surface. 

“People in the community seem to be enjoying it,” Giles said. “Yesterday, when the kids didn’t have school, all I did was open the doors, and they were steady flooding in.” 

The best part? It’s almost completely free to use. 

“We’re not charging anybody to use the facility that is not charging somebody a fee to participate in events or the stuff that they’re doing,” Mallette said. 

Like all of the numerous expansions to Southern Pines since its initial construction, this one was funded by the county’s long-running Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax. 

The project originated from conversations, as early as the last SPLOST renewal referendum in 2023, around plans for the park’s next round of improvements, in particular securing a long-term home for the DLCRA rec basketball program whose existing venues were both aging, and also due to be transitioned back to the city of Dublin’s jurisdiction within a few years’ time. 

Mallette pitched the idea of building a superstructure that would meet not only that need, but a whole world of others. 

His inspiration was Mulberry Creek Community Center, a large-scale multipurpose facility located in Flowery Branch that was constructed by Hall County’s parks and leisure department in the late 1990s. 

Though occupying a considerably smaller floor plan and focused more on fitness than athletics (similar to a college student activities center), their concept served as a model for what this version could be. 

“It was pretty much designed, really, like what ours is,” Mallette said. “When I walked in, I was like, man, this is cool.” 

Agreeing the project was a worthy investment, the DLCRA moved forward with construction in early 2025. It was completed, and opened to the public, by late summer. 

“Coming in, there’s a wow factor,” said Telly McRae, a Dublin native with multiple kids who frequent the facility for various activities (on this particular day, two of them were here for speed/agility training). “This is something that, coming up at my age, we didn’t have. Coming in, and seeing how it’s been put together, it’s amazing. It’s a big asset for the community, especially for the kids.” 

In addition to better serving the park’s existing users, the goal was to also bring a range of fresh options to the table that could attract new ones, in many cases devotees of niche sports, whether informal or organized, that you previously had to go out of town to play. 

“There are some kids that have come and played frisbee, and they know how to play. That’s amazing to me, because I’m not in that world,” Giles said. “Adult flag football has come and actually rented it. They had a good time one afternoon, because there are no leagues around here, and no facility for them to play.” 

The building’s segmentation into three main sections makes it feel a bit smaller from inside. But a look at the whole gives you a staggering sense of its sheer size, which is summed up in a virtually unmeetable max capacity of 3,800 people. 

A turf field making up the main portion affords 30,000 square feet of space that can be configured to fit two miniature baseball fields, three indoor soccer fields or one 50-yard football field. 

Upstairs are three full-length (70-foot) cages around additional space overlooking the rest of the facility that can be used for viewing or training. 

In back, the hard-floored area can support two full basketball courts, four volleyball courts, six pickleball courts, one indoor tennis court or some combination thereof. 

On the ground floor near the entrance is a lobby area complete with a concession stand, cafe space with several large tables, restrooms and three 1,200-square foot classrooms. 

Though everything has a dedicated space, the beauty of the building is its flexibility to adapt and suit any need. 

“This is a pretty nice place,” said Ava Baggett, who in addition to coming to work on her volleyball and softball skills during lessons or personal practice time, frequently lends a helping hand to DLCRA staff around the building and park. “I like how open it is and how we can put stuff down and change the structure of the place.” 

As youth leagues go, the new construction has added wrestling and the remarkably popular indoor soccer to the DLCRA’s lineup of activities for the first time starting in 2025. Basketball also made its debut in the building over the winter, with about 175 kids participating. 

Many of their outdoor sports, at least for younger age groups who play on more compact fields, can be brought inside, as they did when weather threatened the opening day of tee-ball season back in March. 

Though outdoor pickleball – a newer youth and adult league sport – already has its dedicated complex across the way, this building also adds the capacity for indoor courts, if ever needed for a special event. It’s also equipped to support volleyball and badminton, which could become some level of rec sports offering in the future if interest permits. 

Organized sports, however, are usually concentrated to late afternoons and evenings on a few nights per week, and take up a relatively small amount of the building’s timetable. 

What to do with the rest of hours, running 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8-6 Friday, 10-6 Saturday and 2-6 Sunday, is entirely up to you. 

“What we wanted to do at the start of it is slow-walk into it, because now we feel like we’ve gotten our hours pretty manageable, and not had to change a whole bunch,” Mallette said. 

Unless privately booked, use of the facility is pretty much first-come first serve for anyone. For specific uses, reservations are helpful to ensure there’s no overlap with whatever else might be taking place inside on a given day. 

DLCRA social media accounts offer regular updates on anything unusual on the calendar that will alter free-play hours in the usual routine, and Giles also keeps a dry-erase board in the lobby with updates on any planned deviations from the schedule. 

But beyond those scheduling constraints, literally anyone is welcome to use the building at any time, provided they abide by some simple rules, which boil down to two main things: Respect the facility and those around you who are also using it. 

“We ask that they sign in, be respectful, pick up the balls when you’re done and don’t leave trash,” Giles said. 

She added that the privilege of having such a nice building available isn’t lost on anyone, and most seem to do their part to keep it clean and orderly, maintain a family-friendly atmosphere and adjust their activities to accommodate others in the building without being asked. 

“As long as you can promote good sportsmanship, and get along with almost everybody,” Giles said. “I tease them, don’t forget to put those basketballs up, but you really don’t have to dictate a lot.” 

Of all the potential draws, basketball has been the biggest hit, and has the back area in use nearly around the clock as players from youth all the way up to middle-aged adults run games for hours on end. 

“It blows my mind how many people come in there and play basketball,” Mallette said. “We’re seeing about 1,400 kids a week.” 

Phillips, a standout player at Dublin during his high school days, usually comes to play pickup basketball about four times per week when his work schedule allows. 

Before the DLCRA indoor was built, he and others had considerably fewer options of places to run. Besides Oconee Gym, which maintains extensive hours but has only one full-size court, and Stubbs Park, which opens much less often, the only other possibilities were school or church gyms that are only seldom available to the public. 

These courts, with the random exception, offer free play on at least one set of goals from open to close every day. 

“Because of the hours of how this is, it’s way better, because throughout the day, you can just come in here whenever,” Phililps said. 

The courts are popular even among folks who are at the facility for other reasons, but tend to flock in that direction when their main activities give way to some free time while waiting to be picked up to go home. 

“In the afternoons, it’s nothing to look over there and there’ll be 75 kids playing basketball. It’s huge,” Giles said. “You can watch a room for soccer, baseball or whatever kind of lesson, and as soon as those lessons are over, they’ll run onto that basketball court. 

“It’s unreal. It doesn’t matter if you’re young or old, you’re over there playing basketball.”  

And it’s for that reason that the building’s default configuration has at least one full court and half of another set up for basketball, with extra goals to shoot on lining the edges. 

“I’m glad to see that there are multiple courts, to give them an opportunity for multiple games in a safe environment,” McRae said. 

A net for volleyball or badminton usually takes up the remaining floor space, and that gets its share of daily traffic as virtually one of the only places locally where one is regularly available. 

“It’s really good, and it’s convenient,” said Payton Phillips, a West Laurens High School senior who offers lessons to a handful of young players once a week. “I like that the nets are pre-set up for me when I get in here and I don’t have to do any of that.” 

The building has been a godsend for various middle and high school sports teams who occasionally take refuge inside on afternoons when weather alters their on-campus practice plans. 

For local football squads, in particular, the large space offers a preferable alternative to the school gym for getting in some quality work when it’s too hot, cold or wet outside. 

“We’ve had about every school come and utilize it,” Mallette said. 

Besides youth sports, it’s also added even more to the scope of the DLCRA’s activity offerings, which now include a couple of regular fitness-driven classes. 

One for adults, held thrice weekly, is led by Chassie Brinson. 

Another geared toward young athletes has been spearheaded by Landon Martin, a former college baseball player who’s partnered with the DLCRA to create Legacy Sports Performance, and offers speed and agility training for athletes age 6-18 in three hourlong sessions back-to-back every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. 

“Some of these kids don’t have anywhere to go (for that),” McRae said. “This is a big help.” 

The program – which works to boost participants’ coordination, agility and explosiveness – can be a benefit to anyone who commits time to it. 

“There are a pile of kids invested in that,” Giles said. “We’ve got older and younger ones that enjoy that, because that’s helpful to any athlete.” 

Though he only started this a few months ago, Martin’s classes are now averaging between 20 and 25 kids daily, and their continued growth promises to have a long-term impact on school athletic programs countywide as many young players get some early exposure to development that, for most, only begins to become a regular emphasis once they reach the upper middle or high school level. 

“I think it’s a very big help,” he said. “And it doesn’t take much. Even from the beginning, I had kids coming in there that looked like they had two left feet, and now I just watch them (improve). They shouldn’t have to wait till eighth grade or ninth grade.” 

Even for those with no serious sports aspirations, the training still carries the physical and mental health benefits that come with improving fitness and flexibility. 

“A lot of the things I focus on, it isn’t about being an athlete, it’s about being coachable, listening… It helps instill good habits, and it’s physical activity,” Martin said. 

Before this began in early 2026, he worked with kids privately on a smaller scale where fewer numbers and tight confines made participation much more exclusive and expensive. This arrangement, providing ample space to work with a group of any reasonable size at once, has kept the cost low while also making the resource accessible to pretty much anyone. 

“You can get to where you have too many (in a small space), and it’s not very effective. But when you get to where you have the space you have in there, it’s easy to make work,” he said. “It’s an overwhelming thing, to be honest with you, to have somewhere like that.” 

There’s a limited range of fitness equipment – mainly resistance bands and plyometric balls – available to those interested in using the facility to work out on their own. 

Occasionally, there will also be walkers who frequent tracks around ponds on the opposite side of the park who migrate over and log their steps inside when the weather is less than ideal. 

The facility is likewise a venue for sport-specific training that puts affordable development within reach of more local athletes. 

Multiple DLCRA-affiliated coaches, and private ones, offer hitting and pitching lessons out of the facility, which has three fixed batting cages upstairs (one outfitted with some high-end tracking and swing analysis technology) and several more pop-ups that can be added to the main floor if needed. 

Each, like the outdoor cages and ball fields outside in the park, are open to the public anytime they’re not being used for DLCRA/Legacy Sports practices, games or events.

“When we run the big travel ball tournaments out here, they’re welcome to come up and utilize, and share,” Giles said. 

The building functions as a non-athletic event and activity space as much as a recreational one. 

As far as day-to-day use goes, it’s gotten a surprisingly high rate of traffic from homeschool families who take advantage of classrooms for instruction or schoolwork and other areas for physical activity. 

“I really had no idea how big homeschool was,” Mallette said. “There’s over 1,000 kids that are homeschooled. The homeschool group has free range throughout the day, which has been crazy… that that many people have gotten to utilize it.” 

Two of the classrooms are open to the public, and also available to reserve. The third is dedicated to the DLCRA’s after-school program, which hosts about 50 local students for a few hours each weekday afternoon, the early portion for completing homework and studying and the latter for games or free time in different parts of the gym. 

That, and the building as a whole, will also be the new home base for Legacy Summer Camp, which builds on that by providing a full day’s worth of daily activities (including arts and crafts, games team-building, educational experiences, field trips and regular visits to the Southern Pines Water Park) for at least twice the number of participants throughout the months of June and July. 

The space has also been valuable in expanding the scope of regional and national events that Southern Pines can host. 

In February, the facility hosted close to 500 people in town for a Leadership Georgia convention. This past April brought a national archery event sponsored by Fellowship of Christian Athletes. 

Perfect Game and Prep Baseball Report (which both already sponsor regular outdoor tournaments on the turfed and semi-turfed fields elsewhere in the complex) and USA Wrestling are among the other organizations that have booked the center for recent functions. 

The DLCRA is only a few months into the process of discovering all the potential the indoor facility holds, and that only the sky… or rather the roof… is the limit for its usefulness and public benefit. 

“It grows every day,” Giles said, adding that it will probably continue to become more popular “the more and more people that know about it.” 

In addition to the regulars, there are also plenty of folks who happen to be passing by and pop in, with a touch of amazement when they see it for the first time. 

“We have people stop all the time, and they’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, I didn’t even know it was here,’” Giles said.

Regardless of how much might be going on inside at any time, there’s always some room available to accommodate anyone looking for a place to play, train or spend time. 

For most, it’s just a matter of coming to check it out. 

“There’s nobody who should walk away and say that they couldn’t find time to get in the gym, because there’s plenty of time,” Mallette said.