Western Pennsylvania pays part of the cost for Eagles' Super Bowl victory parade

Pittsburghers gave more than their grudging respect after the Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl in February — they also pitched in for victory parade costs, according to news reports.

The commonwealth of Pennsylvania, including Pittsburgh-area taxpayers, paid about $500,000 to help cover security costs for the Feb. 8 parade, which cost about $2.27 million, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported . The city spent $1.5 million and the Eagles paid about $273,000 to cover damage to city property, according to the report.

“Who's the City of Champions now?” the newspaper asked in its Friday story, two days before the Pittsburgh Penguins eliminated the Philadelphia Flyers from the Stanley Cup playoffs.

When the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrated the team's sixth Super Bowl victory in 2009, the city spent $79,500 on police and cleanup crews.

The bigger expense in 2009 was paying police, firefighters and other personnel to manage crowds after fans flooded streets the night of the game. That cost approached $500,000, a city spokesman said at the time. The money came from a state fund to help Pittsburgh offset costs of “regional events,” the spokesman said.

About 700,000 people attended the five-mile parade celebrating the Eagles' victory over the Patriots, according to reports.

Wes Venteicher is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 412-380-5676, wventeicher@tribweb.com or via Twitter @wesventeicher.