Nutter: Team, Not City, Would Pay for 2nd Phillies' Victory Parade

by KYW's Mike Dunn

On the day of game six of the World Series, Mayor Nutter said unequivocally for the first time that if the Phillies win the Series, the team would have to pay for any parade this year.

Nutter made his point clear on KYW Newsradio's "Ask the Mayor" program, on Wednesday morning.

The mayor was asked by a listener, who would pay for a Phillies' championship parade should they win the World Series for a second straight time.  The listener noted Nutter's policy -- new this year -- that any parade must be paid for by organizers, not the city (see related story). 

Nutter's answer was yes, that policy applies to the Phillies, too:

(Nutter:)  "The policy is the same for everyone.  And that has been communicated to the Phillies, with regard to the picking up of costs associated with any extra celebration."

(Dunn:)  "So we're clear, therefore, any parade costs for this year would be borne by the team, correct?"

(Nutter:)  "Yes."

Last year's parade (related story) cost roughly $1 million.  The city paid $700,000, and third-party corporate donations picked up the rest of the tab (see related story).

The team has said firmly that it won't comment on parade matters until after the Phillies have clinched it. 

You can hear the entire "Ask the Mayor" program, including the mayor's latest comments on the SEPTA strike, in the podcast at upper right.

(2008 file photo by KYW's Paul Kurtz)