The League’s political savvy and clout got put to a test this week when the Lakers won their 15th NBA championship. Your board became concerned when we heard talk at City Hall that the city foot the bill for city services relating to a parade and rally. As the fifth game was getting underway in Orlando Sunday night, we issued a media statement calling for city funds not to be expended for post-championship celebrating, and suggested the money come from the Lakers and other private sector sources. Following the big Lakers win Sunday night, Mayor Villaraigosa suggested the cost of the celebration be split between the Lakers organization and the city with the city’s share said to be $1 million.

The League took a leadership role in the debate and public sentiment was clearly on our side. Numerous elected officials publicly announced support for our position. By mid-day Monday, the Mayor was lining up private funding to pay for 100 percent of the cost of the parade and rally. We issued another media statement thanking the Mayor and other city officials for doing the right thing by not using city funds for the parade and rally. Local and national media cited the LAPPL’s stance on the issue as pivotal in ensuring precious city funds were preserved to help maintain city services and city jobs.

Postscript: The deployment for Wednesday’s parade and rally was one of the largest in the Department’s history. More than 1,800 officers were on duty to ensure a highly successful celebration an estimated 250,000 residents could enjoy with a high degree of safety and security. For the most part, everything went smoothly with plenty of enjoyment for fans and families.