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Eagles Super Bowl parade cost $2.27 million, with team and state chipping in

The Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl parade cost $2.27 million and Pittsburgh Steelers fans are paying for it - at least part of it.

The Eagles released a documentary celebrating Philadelphia’s Super Bowl LII-winning season.
The Eagles released a documentary celebrating Philadelphia’s Super Bowl LII-winning season.Read moreTOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer

The Eagles Super Bowl victory parade cost $2.27 million, and Pittsburgh Steelers fans are paying for at least part of it.

Who's the City of Champions now?

Mayor Kenney's administration finally disclosed the tab for the Feb. 8 parade on Friday, showing that overtime for police and other employees to work the South Philly-to-Art Museum bacchanal totaled $2 million, plus $273,000 for damage to city equipment and property, including Von Colln Athletic Field.

Kenney spokesman Mike Dunn said the Eagles had agreed to cover the $273,000, while the taxpayers of Pennsylvania — that would include folks in the Iron City — will chip in $500,000 toward the city's security costs.

That leaves the city on the hook for about $1.5 million.

"We thank the Eagles for their contribution to cover property damages on top of everything else they did to make the parade and ceremony so special," Kenney said in a statement. "We'd also like to thank the commonwealth for helping defray the security costs to help ensure that this was a joyous day for residents throughout Philadelphia and the region."

The mayor estimated that the two playoff games at Lincoln Financial Field 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," he said. "We're very proud of the team, and its fans made Philadelphia shine on the day of the parade."

Said Eagles president Don Smolenski: "This was a true collaboration and we are thankful for all of the support from the city and state, in addition to the hard work and dedication of our partners and staff, to make it such a memorable day for the millions of Eagles fans in attendance or watching from home."

Compared to the Phillies World Series parade, the Eagles festivities were more expensive: The 2008 event cost the city more than $1 million, according to former Mayor Michael Nutter's administration.

The Eagles parade may hurt taxpayers' pocketbooks more because it traveled a longer distance. Asked if Eagles fans were also perhaps more destructive, Dunn said, "I wouldn't use the word destructive for any fan in this city. I think they are exuberant."

The 2015 papal visit had a price tag of about $17 million to the city, almost half of which was expected to be reimbursed by the World Meeting of Families.

After the parade, Kenney said he would provide a tally of taxpayer costs within a week or two. In the end, it took the mayor almost 2½ months to release the numbers. Dunn said negotiations with the team over reimbursement contributed to the delay.

An Eagles spokesman said the team incurred "significant costs" for the parade, but declined to provide figures.