Park pavilion and facility rentals — Sebastian, Florida

Sebastian rents four city facilities to the public: the Community Center, the Sebastian Yacht Club building, the Riverview Park pavilion and the Friendship Park pavilion.

All four bookings run through the City of Sebastian Parks and Recreation Department, which the city describes as responsible for handling the rentals of the Yacht Club, Community Center, Park Pavilions and Riverview Park facilities (City of Sebastian Parks and Recreation). The department's rental line is 772-228-7054. The fees above are the posted 2026 rates; each one is quoted plus tax, but the city notes that the tax rate decreases from 3.0% to 0.0% effective 10/01/2025, so a rental booked in Sebastian today carries no added tax on the fee itself (Riverview Park Pavilion Rental).

Deposits are flat and are never taxed. The Community Center and Yacht Club each take a $250 deposit, the same for Sebastian residents and non-residents, while either park pavilion takes a $100 deposit payable to the City of Sebastian (Community Center rental). The two buildings charge a lower resident rate, and proof of residency is required to get it; the two pavilions charge one rate to everyone.

One city building is off the list. The Senior Center at 1255 Main Street, at the west end of the City Hall complex, is marked NOT available for rentals and stays reserved for scheduled senior activities (City of Sebastian Senior Center). The Barber Street Sports Complex ball fields fall in a separate class under the city Code, described below, and are used mainly by organized leagues.

The Sebastian Community Center rents for $300 for four hours for city residents and $400 for non-residents, with each added hour at $40 or $50 and a $250 deposit.

The building sits at 1805 N. Central Avenue and is the home of the city's classes on weekdays; it is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., and on Saturday and Sunday it is only available for rentals (City of Sebastian Community Center). That schedule is why most private bookings at the Central Avenue hall land on weekends. The rentable space is a single large meeting and banquet room.

Size matters for planning. The Community Center room capacity is 172 people but the seating capacity is 80, and every reservation includes tables and chairs for 80: three rectangular tables, ten round tables that seat six to eight, and 80 folding chairs (Community Center rental). The kitchenette has an oven, microwave, refrigerator and sink, but the city points out that it does not have a stove, which shapes what a caterer can do on site in Sebastian.

The four-hour block is the unit of sale, and it includes set-up and clean-up time. A party that needs a longer window books extra hours at the hourly rate, provided the Community Center is free. Sebastian residents pay $300 for the block and $40 per added hour; non-residents pay $400 and $50. A five-hour resident event therefore costs $340 plus the $250 deposit, while the same event for a non-resident costs $450 plus the deposit.

The city-owned Sebastian Yacht Club building on Indian River Drive holds 50 people and rents for $175 for four hours to residents and $250 to non-residents.

The Yacht Club is not a private club. It is a city meeting room attached to one of the two public boat ramp facilities run by the City of Sebastian, a dual concrete ramp at 820 Indian River Drive, just north of Riverview Park, with a fishing pier, dock areas and a restroom (Yacht Club facility page). Trailer parking for the ramp is across the street in the Riverview Park lot, which matters for an evening event on a busy boating weekend along the river.

The room is small and simple. The city lists the Yacht Club capacity at 50 people, with no kitchen or kitchenette and one ADA-accessible restroom (Sebastian Yacht Club rental). Each reservation includes seven square card tables, six 30 by 72 inch tables and 50 folding chairs. The resident rate is $175 for four hours plus $30 per added hour; the non-resident rate is $250 plus $50 per added hour; and the deposit is $250 for everyone. For a meeting of 30 or 40 people on the Sebastian riverfront, it is the least expensive enclosed room the city rents.

A Sebastian park pavilion is held only after the city receives the signed use permit application, the $100 deposit and the rental fee of $200 at Riverview Park or $75 at Friendship Park.

The rule is strict. The city states that no event dates will be penciled in or held for anyone without submission of all of the required items (Riverview Park Pavilion Rental). Submission is by regular mail or in person, and an applicant who needs to file electronically must call 772-228-7054 to arrange it. Paying by card adds a processing fee, and the city asks that the credit card authorization form be faxed, not emailed, because an email to the city becomes a public record under Florida law.

Riverview Park, at 600 U.S. Highway 1 on the corner of C.R. 512/Sebastian Boulevard, is the primary event and gathering point for the City of Sebastian, with picnic pavilions, the Splash Pad, the Veteran's War Memorial, sand volleyball courts and twin piers on the Indian River (Riverview Park facility page). The $200 Riverview pavilion fee reflects that waterfront location (Riverview Park Pavilion Rental). Big public events such as the Clam Bake Festival and the 4th of July Freedom Festival also use the park, so popular dates fill early.

Friendship Park, at 1440 Friendship Lane behind City Hall, is the quieter choice. It is home to the city's four Har-Tru clay tennis courts, a playground and a multi-purpose field, and it has a large pavilion that can be rented and reserved for social events (Friendship Park facility page). The Friendship pavilion rental fee is $75 plus the $100 deposit, the lowest price of any Sebastian rental (Friendship Park Pavilion Rental).

Chapter 74 of the Sebastian Code requires City Council approval for alcohol, gambling, use after 11:00 p.m. or any admission charge at the Community Center or Yacht Club, and bars commercial use.

Section 74-1 of the Sebastian Code of Ordinances defines enclosed public-use facilities as city properties such as the yacht club and community center that are best used by designated groups for meetings, events and private parties. Section 74-8 then provides that no permit shall be granted for the commercial use of an enclosed public-use facility, although fund-raising for non-profit organizations is allowed with council approval. The council approval trigger covers activities involving gambling, alcoholic beverages, the use of a facility after 11:00 p.m., or a charge for admission, food costs or a required donation.

Timing follows from that. Because the Sebastian City Council meets twice a month, an applicant who wants to serve alcohol must submit the application at least thirty days before the event so the request reaches a council meeting in time (Community Center rental). Large gatherings can also require off-duty police: the Community Center rental page gives the example that 76 to 250 expected attendees may require one Sebastian Police officer at $60 per hour for a minimum of 3 hours, and 251 to 300 attendees may require two. The Sebastian Police Department makes that call after it receives the funded application.

Deposits are not automatic refunds. Under Section 74-9, all or part of the security deposit for any permit shall be forfeited to the city if the city manager finds non-compliance with the permit or damage to the facilities, which the Code defines as physical destruction or clean-up costs attributable to the applicant. The city manager may prorate the damages and return the rest, and the applicant may appeal to the Sebastian City Council. Section 74-10 also lets the city manager rescind a permit found in violation of the chapter.

The four rentable sites are a small slice of Sebastian's 23 parks and facilities, most of which are open first come with no reservation.

The city lists 23 parks and facilities with over 125 acres of developed park land and 244 acres of nature preserve (City of Sebastian Parks and Facilities), and the Parks and Recreation Department maintains landscaping on over 165 acres of park land (City of Sebastian Parks and Recreation). Section 74-2 of the Sebastian Code has the City Council set by resolution the classification and fees for each recreation facility, which is why the rental pages point applicants to council resolutions and to the Chapter 74 ordinance included in each rental packet (Facility Rentals, General Information).

The Code separates the categories. Open-air public use facilities such as the ball fields of the Barber Street Sports Complex and the skatepark may be leased on a long-term basis to specific organizations, which is how youth leagues hold the fields, rather than through the four-hour bookings used at the Community Center and the Yacht Club. Gatherings expected to draw 50 or more people at Riverview Park or another open-air site fall under the separate park event and special event permits in Chapter 74, not under a pavilion rental.

Last verified: October 10, 2026, on the City of Sebastian website.