Philadelphia shelled out $2.27 million to honor the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles this February.
Mayor Jim Kenney's office said Friday that the vast majority of the tab for the five-mile spectacle on February 8th covered overtime for police officers. The city spent $2 million on overtime in total — with $1.5 million of that going to the police department.
In addition to the staffing costs, parade attendees did $273,000 in damage to city property including the Von Colln Athletic Field on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
The Eagles have agreed to cover the cost of the damage. The state will kick in $500,000 to help offset security costs, the mayor's office said.
Kenney, in a statement, said money generated from playoff games heading into the Super Bowl helps to justify the bill.
"It's estimated that the two playoff games at the Linc prior to the Super Bowl brought in $2.3 million in additional wage and parking taxes. With that factored in, I'm comfortable that we were able to stage an enormous and nearly-flawless celebration while still protecting the interests of taxpayers. We’re very proud of the team, and its fans made Philadelphia shine on the day of the parade," he said.
The Eagles victory parade cost about $1 million more than the Phillies World Series parade in 2008. It's on par, however, with how much Chicago spent on the Cubs' 2016 World Series parade.
