Field Use Policy

  1. Introduction

Pine Banks Park is dedicated as a resource for the cities of Malden and Melrose, Massachusetts, and receives financial support from those municipalities pursuant to the founding charter. As such, it is the obligation of the park and its trustees to provide the best possible recreational environment for those municipalities, and the citizens of each community.

It is also necessary to defray the costs of maintenance and usage of the facilities of the park, which can most appropriately be addressed by a reasonable user’s fee for the facilities. This policy is intended to establish a rational approach of this matter. The income from field use fees is used to recover the costs of electricity in the lighting of night games as well as the costs associated with the preparation, maintenance, and improvement of the fields necessary to meet the expectations and demands of the park’s users.

  1. Purpose

The purpose of the fees imposed is to promote efficient time-based permitting, and discourage the reservation of blocks of time which result in non-usage surpluses that deprive other group’s access to the fields.

  1. Field Access/Availability

All organized groups must obtain permission, after making a reservation request, from the Superintendent of Park Staff.  Field conditions are assessed by park staff and may warrant closure at any time.

The synthetic fields are open for reservation:

No earlier than March 1(weather dependent) through Thanksgiving of each calendar year

The natural grass fields are open for reservation:

No earlier than the 3rd week of March (weather dependent) and close no later than Thanksgiving of each year.

  1. Insurance

In order to obtain a field use permit, all user groups must provide proof of liability insurance for that group or organization. “Pine Banks Park” must be added as additionally insured on the submitted binder, annually before any reservation is approved. PDFs of the Insurance Binder can be emailed to ‘[email protected]‘ or mailed to The Pine Banks Park Foundation, Inc., 350 Main Street, Suite 30, Malden, MA 02148. The binder must be supplied before any reservation requests will be allowed.

  1. Field Access Priority

The usage of Pine Banks Park’s fields will be prioritized in the following order.

  1. Malden and Melrose Scholastic Athletics
  2. -Malden and Melrose High School Sports teams
  3. Malden and Melrose Sanctioned Youth Programs*(in according seasons)
  4. The Mystic River Rugby Club* – As it relates to RF1 only
  5. Malden and Melrose Adult Organizations
  6. All other users
  1. Lighting Fees

Lights are scheduled exclusively by the Superintendent, park liaisons, or staff. The field lights are scheduled and tracked by using computer software to ensure efficiency and accuracy in billing. There is a separate cost associated with light usage, and will be billed separately at the end of each week and is due upon billing.

  1. Permit Fees

The fee for the use fields and lights at Pine Banks shall be as follows:

A. Base Fees (one hour minimum)

  1. Permit fee (per organization, per calendar year)………………………………….………..$25.00
  2. Grass Fields, per hour (BB1,SB1,SF2)………………………………….…………………………..$85.00
  3. Artificial fields, per hour (BB2, RF1)………………………………….…………………………..$110.00
  4. Lighting, per hour (BB1,BB2,SB1,RF1)………………………………………………………………$30.00
  5. Tournaments………………………………………………………………………………….….…….$Base Rate

B. Long Term Use Discount (30 hour minimum per reservation)

There are users who are subject to field use fees who desire and can commit to large quantities of field time. These users will be subject to a discount to make the fields affordable on a large scale basis. For any reservation of field use which exceeds 30 hours, there will be a 50% discount on the field use fees for that field or fields. (Additional, separate reservations under 30 hours are subject to base rate fees.) Tournaments and lighting fees are not subject to any discount rates.

  1. Field Rules and Regulations

Violation of any of the following may result in termination of permit, loss of future privileges, or financial responsibility for damages caused.

*NOTICE* In the event that a field is in questionable condition due to inclement weather, and park staff cannot be reached to determine availability, good judgment is expected to be demonstrated. Playing on fields when too wet or soft will result in unsafe conditions for athletes, and will result in the deterioration of playing surfaces which ruins the facility for all.

Field Rules

  1. Field availability is at the discretion of the park staff
  2. Field maintenance is strictly prohibited unless approved by park staff
  3. Bicycles, rollerblades, scooters, etc. are prohibited on the track or fields
  4. Track is closed to public during track meets
  5. Soft toss into fencing is not allowed
  6. Metal spiked cleats are prohibited on the artificial fields
  7. Gum, food, glass bottles and smoking prohibited on the artificial fields
  8. Keep fields and dugouts clean

Park Regulations

  1. Parking only in designated spots and areas
  2. Alcohol is strictly prohibited
  3. Dogs must be leashed at all times, have waste removed, and are not allowed on fields at any time
  4. Littering and/or illegal dumping is prohibited
  5. Loitering is prohibited
  6. No open fires/barbecues allowed
  1. Application Process

After the needs of the aforementioned exempt groups are met, the unused field times for a given season will be made available for reservation. Requests can be made at any time, but typically will have a more realistic response if made no earlier than (30) days in advance of the desired date(s). Pine Banks Park divides its reservations into three seasons:

  • Spring (mid-March through May) – revolves around scholastic schedule
  • Summer (June through mid-August) – mostly open schedule
  • Fall (mid-August through mid-November) – revolves around scholastic schedule

Interested groups should reserve a field online. Included should be the organization or group name, dates and times requested (with secondary choices as well). If the requested times are available, the organization will be contacted. The group must provide proof of insurance before a permit will be issued. The remainder fees and lighting fees will be billed weekly and are due upon billing.

Checks can be made payable and sent to:

Pine Banks Park Foundation
350 Main Street, Suite 30
Malden, MA 02148