Veterans Memorial Park in Palm Bay, Florida

Veterans Memorial Park, at 2201 Port Malabar Blvd NE in Palm Bay, is a city park with a memorial area, a bathing lake, a lighted football field, lighted basketball and pickleball/tennis courts, pavilions and a playground.

The City of Palm Bay facility directory gives the address as 2201 Port Malabar Blvd NE, Palm Bay, FL 32905, with the phone number (321) 952-3443 and hours of 7am until 10pm (City of Palm Bay facility directory). Its amenity list runs to 19 items: lighted basketball courts, a bathing lake, benches, a concrete walkway, a lighted football field, free Wi-Fi, a gazebo, grills, mature shade trees, a memorial area, a multi-use field, parking, pavilions, lighted pickleball and tennis courts, picnic tables, a playground, rentals, restrooms and water fountains.

The name appears two ways in city records. The Palm Bay facilities inventory files the site as Veteran's Memorial Park, a Parks & Rec park at 2201 Port Malabar Boulevard NE (City of Palm Bay facilities list), while the recreation pages and parade notices use Veterans Memorial Park. Both point to the same Port Malabar Boulevard address.

City notices for 2024, 2025 and 2026 route the Palm Bay Veterans Day Parade from the Tony Rosa Community Center east on Port Malabar Boulevard to Veterans Memorial Park, and point spectators to viewing areas at the park.

The October 27, 2025 parade notice spelled out that year's route: the parade was to kick off at the Tony Rosa Community Center, proceed east along Port Malabar Boulevard and conclude at Veterans Memorial Park, with prime viewing areas in front of the park (City of Palm Bay, October 27, 2025). That parade was set for Saturday, November 8, 2025, at 10:00 a.m., and spectators were encouraged to arrive by 9:00 a.m. The notice announced a full closure of Port Malabar Boulevard in both directions from Clearmont Street to Bianca Drive NE starting at 9:00 a.m., with the parade expected to end by 11:00 a.m.

For 2025, entry was open to groups at no charge. The same Palm Bay notice said local businesses, community organizations, military groups and clubs could join, that there was no registration fee for parade participants, and that sign-ups went through the Tony Rosa Community Center at (321) 952-3443 (City of Palm Bay).

The 2026 date is set. In his October 2026 message, Mayor Rob Medina announced the Annual Veterans Day Parade for Saturday, November 7, 2026, at 10:00 AM, again from the Tony Rosa Community Center east along Port Malabar Boulevard to Veterans Memorial Park (October 2026 Mayor's Message). The 2024 parade, announced for Saturday, November 9, from the Tony Rosa Community Center east on Port Malabar Blvd to Veterans Memorial Park, was to be followed by an event in the park until 3:00 PM with food, drinks and entertainment (October 2024 Mayor's Message).

Palm Bay Recreation Advisory Board minutes track the parade's size. They record 27 entries in the 2022 Veteran Parade (minutes, November 1, 2022), and in January 2024 staff reported that the previous year's Veterans Parade was the largest thus far (minutes, January 2, 2024).

The 2023 parade was announced on a different route. The November 2023 Mayor's Message announced the 2023 Palm Bay Veterans Day Parade for Saturday, November 11 at 10:00am, starting at Palm Bay City Hall, heading east on Malabar Road to Emerson Drive, then south on Emerson to end at Copley Street SE, with public viewing areas in the median and along the sidewalk on the south side of Malabar Road (November 2023 Mayor's Message).

Besides the parade, Palm Bay has used Veterans Memorial Park for its Patriot Day remembrance on September 11 and as a display site for military tribute banners.

The city held its annual Patriot Day Remembrance Ceremony at Veterans Memorial Park on Wednesday, September 11, 2024, according to Mayor Rob Medina's October 2024 message (October 2024 Mayor's Message). A year earlier, the August 2023 Recreation Advisory Board minutes listed the 9/11 remembrance as the next event, to be held at Veterans Memorial Park, with staff working with the co-sponsor, the American Legion (minutes, August 1, 2023). The site moves: the 2026 Patriot Day Remembrance Ceremony on September 11, marking 25 years, was held at Sacrifice Park (October 2026 Mayor's Message).

Banners are the other tradition. The September 2022 Mayor's Message says the previous season of the Palm Bay Military Tribute Banner Program displayed 38 different banners at Palm Bay City Hall and Veterans Memorial Park from Veterans Day through Memorial Day, and that 2022 to 2023 would be the third consecutive year of city participation (September 2022 Mayor's Message). For the 2022 to 2023 season, banners honoring active-duty members and veterans with ties to Palm Bay were scheduled for display at City Hall, Veterans Memorial Park or Fred Poppe Regional Park. Sponsoring a 24 by 48 inch banner cost $110, and Gold Star families and new enlistments received theirs at no cost.

Veterans Memorial Park has four lighted combo pickleball/tennis courts open daily 7 AM to 10 PM, lighted basketball courts and a lighted football field used by the Palm Bay Youth Athletic Association.

The City of Palm Bay pickleball page lists Veterans Memorial Park with four outdoor lighted combo pickleball/tennis courts, open daily from 7 AM to 10 PM (Palm Bay Pickleball). That ties Fred Lee Park, at 895 Emerson Dr NE, for the most outdoor courts on the page; Ken Greene Memorial Park on Riviera Drive NE has one. The indoor alternatives are the four courts at the Ted Whitlock Community Center and three at the Tony Rosa Community Center; the page says everyone entering the gym must pay the $2 daily guest fee or have an active membership.

The courts were reported resurfaced in November 2023. At the November 2023 Recreation Advisory Board meeting, staff reported that the Veterans Park tennis courts had been completely resurfaced (minutes, November 7, 2023, page 2).

The football field has a regular tenant. The city athletic leagues page lists the Palm Bay Youth Athletic Association (PBYAA), the Palm Bay Pirates youth football and cheerleading program, at Veterans Memorial Park (City of Palm Bay Athletic Leagues). Other Palm Bay youth football groups play elsewhere: the Bayside Bears at Fred Poppe Regional Park and the Palm Bay Rockets Pop Warner program at Fred Lee Park.

Palm Bay's fee resolution for FY 2025-2026 puts the Veterans Memorial Park large pavilion with electric at $90 a day plus tax, and the FY 2025 to 2029 capital plan lists $100,000 in fiscal year 2025 for a sun shade at the park.

Resolution 2025-31, which adopts Palm Bay recreation fees for fiscal year 2025-2026, groups the Veterans pavilion with Fred Lee #1, Goode, Knecht #1, McGriff and Pollak as large pavilions with electric at $90 a day plus tax (Resolution 2025-31, page 6). The city rentals page lists the same $90 class with Fred Lee #1, Goode, Knecht #1 and McGriff and does not name Veterans in it (City of Palm Bay Rentals).

Booking rules come from the Palm Bay rentals page. Reservations are first come, first served and generally accepted up to one year in advance, all renters are subject to pre-approval, and contracts are required (City of Palm Bay Rentals). Pavilions can be rented on all holidays, including Veteran's Day, unlike the community centers, and pavilions are available seven days a week from dawn to dusk.

Shade is on the capital list. The Palm Bay capital improvement plan for FY 2025 to 2029 lists a Veterans Park Sun Shade under Parks & Facilities, in priority category 1, Health & Safety, funded from General Fund 001 with $100,000 in fiscal year 2025 (Palm Bay CIP FY 2025-2029, page 5).

Last verified: October 21, 2026, with fresh reads of every City of Palm Bay page and document cited above, including the October 2026 Mayor's Message for the November 7, 2026 parade date, time and route.