Haverhill, MA Special Events & Permits: Park Event Permits (2026)

Article VIII of Chapter 193, Playgrounds, Parks and Recreation Areas, ties use of City-owned athletic fields in Haverhill to a per-player fee rather than a general application process. Under § 193-26, any team that competes in a tournament on City-owned land owes $5 per player per tournament; the Recreation Commission may waive that fee for Haverhill residents, and any group organized under Internal Revenue Code § 501(c)(3) is exempt from paying it entirely. Under § 193-27, every youth sports association in the city owes $4 per player for a season, and that fee must be paid before the city will schedule the association's field usage for the season; an association that does not pay cannot hold athletic activities on City property at all.

Both fees are dedicated to the Recreation and Parks Revolving Fund, which the code says exists to maintain recreational fields, facilities and programs across Haverhill rather than going into the city's general fund. The scheme reads as the city's substitute for a conventional park-reservation permit: instead of a separate application, payment of the tournament or season fee is itself the condition for the Recreation Department to book a city field for an organized event. The fees sit alongside § 193-15's hours rule, which lets the Recreation Director grant written after-hours access to Winnekenni Park for a permitted recreational event.