It’s been an exciting month for Philadelphia, with the Eagles winning Super Bowl LIX on Sunday, February 9th. Philadelphia is truly a sports city.  If you’re in Philly, you’re going to hear about sports even if you don’t want to!  We are one of comparatively few cities in the United States that has baseball, basketball, football, hockey, and soccer, all 5 Major League sports.  The Super Bowl is also very important to our city.  This is the second time the Eagles have won the Super Bowl, five years after their first victory for the Patriots in 2018, and the city is ready to celebrate!

The Super Bowl Parade was held on Friday, February 14th.  Over a million people attended, it was 34 degrees outside, and the entire city was jubilant.  But behind the celebration was an enormous logistical undertaking.  How can the city manage the flow of so many people and keep everyone safe?  And who pays?

The city modified its transportation schedule for the parade.  The trains skipped certain stations, bringing people directly to the action.  Philadelphia also managed to get double-decker buses with “Go Eagles!” full-sized banners on them.  Police officers biked alongside the buses as security and crowd control, and surveilled with helicopters.  Newscasters and journalists were everywhere.  It’s impressive that the city could get all of this set up only six days after the Eagles’ victory!  Although some plans were surely made ahead of time, such as printing victory merchandise.  The rings, on the other hand, won’t be ready for several months, although the players have already been fitted for them! 

The attendance, cost, and revenue of the 2025 parade has not been fully released at the time of writing, but the 2018 parade cost $2.27 million.  That cost was split between $500,000 from the state of Pennsylvania, $273,000 from the Eagles themselves, and 1.5 million from the city of Philadelphia.  Sponsors may also be contributing, as advertisements could be seen on the buses on the parade.

Why would the city bother paying so much for the celebration?  It’s not just to celebrate, it is also an important revenue opportunity for the city and local businesses.  If each fan spends $50 on food, merchandise, and transportation, then the revenue generated might be higher than $50 million dollars.  This is a boost to the restaurant and hospitality industry, especially in February where tourism is slow, and a boost to the city itself, who can charge for parking.  It’s also great publicity for the city of Philadelphia, which may increase its tourism or the possibility of future investments.  Especially for a city that has a reputation for rough celebrations (Santas throwing snowballs, fans climbing streetlight poles), it’s important to show America that Philly is thriving, even if they did have to grease the poles!

Here’s hoping for another sports team celebration in 2025!!  Maybe the Phillies in Red October?!!!