Pinal County, AZ Special Events & Permits: Park Event Permits (2026)
Key Facts
- Required for
- nonprofit (outside normal use), private, commercial park uses
- Commercial revenue share
- capped at 20% of gross receipts
- May require
- damage deposit, insurance certificate, performance bond
- Nonprofit conflicts
- resolved first-come, first-served
- Appeal path
- Board of Supervisors
- Park rule violation
- Class 2 misdemeanor, A.R.S. § 11-940
- Applies to
- all Pinal County parks incl. West Pinal Park
Summary
Reserving a Pinal County park for anything beyond normal drop-in use, from a nonprofit group activity to a paid concession, requires a park use permit under Code of Ordinances Sec. 16-25. Fees are negotiated case by case, commercial operators can be charged up to 20 percent of gross receipts, and a denied applicant can appeal to the Board of Supervisors.
(a) Park use permits shall be required for eligible nonprofit, government, private, or commercial uses. (b) For eligible nonprofit uses, a park use permit is required of any person or group for any activity outside each park's activity design, or for the use of specific park areas that require the exclusion of general park usage. (c) A park use permit shall be obtained in advance by any person or group using a county park for eligible commercial uses. ... (e) The department may require commercial applicants to enter into an agreement with the county for a negotiated percentage of gross receipts not to exceed 20 percent.
Full Breakdown
Section 16-25 of the Code of Ordinances requires a park use permit for eligible nonprofit, government, private, or commercial uses of a county park, which includes facilities like West Pinal Park. A nonprofit group only needs the permit when its activity falls outside the park's normal activity design or requires exclusive use of a specific park area; a commercial operator must obtain the permit in advance for any commercial use at all. The department negotiates the permit fee based on the cost of administering the activity and protecting the park and its visitors, following the county fee schedule where one applies, and may require a commercial permittee to pay the county a negotiated share of gross receipts capped at 20 percent.
The department can also require a damage and clean-up deposit, a certificate of insurance naming the county as additionally insured, adequate medical, sanitary, and security services, and, for a permittee solicited to provide a service or event, a performance and payment bond. It may attach conditions to any activity to protect the park and keep it available to the public, and it can refuse an application that conflicts with a park's management objectives or threatens health, safety, or the park itself. Competing nonprofit requests for the same space are handled first-come, first-served; competing commercial proposals are solicited informally and awarded to the concessionaire offering the county the best revenue or recreation value, provided that operator has no history of poor performance on past permits.
No permit is needed if the activity is already covered by an existing use permit or concessions agreement. A permit decision can be appealed to the Board of Supervisors, and applications are available from an authorized department representative.
Violations & Fines
Breaking any adopted park rule, separate from the permit itself, is a Class 2 misdemeanor under A.R.S. § 11-940, and county law enforcement officers can order a violator to leave the park under section 16-24. A permit application that conflicts with a park's management objectives can be refused outright for health, safety, or damage-prevention reasons, and the department can require deposits or bonds before letting a risky activity proceed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to hold a birthday party or reunion at a Pinal County park?
Is there a fee for a park use permit?
What if two groups want to use the same park space on the same day?
Can the county deny my park use permit application?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Pinal County
Compare Pinal County to another location·View the Arizona special events & permits overview
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