Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa is defending the decision to stage a victory parade for the NBA champion Lakers and says it’s important to celebrate even at a time of high unemployment and home foreclosures.
Villaraigosa said on Tuesday that private donors have offered US$850,000 of nearly US$1 million in city costs for Wednesday’s parade and rally. The Lakers and AEG, which owns Staples Center, are paying for another US$1 million in production costs.
“We intend to do everything we can to minimize the cost to the city,” the mayor said at a news conference on the Lakers’ practice court in El Segundo. “If we hadn’t had a parade, you’d have had a whole bevy of other people criticizing.”
Villaraigosa identified the private donors as Casey and Laura Wasserman, Jerry and Margie Perenchio, Haim and Cheryl Saban, Eli and Edythe Broad, Joe and Sharon Hernandez of Melissa’s Fruits and Vegetables, Ed and Gayle Roski and the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians in Highland, California.
Wasserman is the former owner of the defunct Los Angeles Avengers of the Arena Football League; Perenchio is former chairman and CEO of Univision; Saban bought Univision from Perenchio and his entertainment company produced the Power Rangers children’s television show; the Hernandezes’ company is a major distributor of specialty produce; Eli Broad is a billionaire developer who supports the arts in Los Angeles and is trying to bring an NFL team back to the city; and Ed Roski is a billionaire developer whose Majestic Realty Co helped develop Staples Center.
The parade comes at a time when the Los Angeles Unified School District — the second-largest in the US — faces a US$596 million budget shortfall for the 2009-2010 school year. The Los Angeles Board of Education voted in April to lay off as many as 5,400 teachers and support personnel for the upcoming school year.
Villaraigosa said the Lakers generate an annual economic benefit of about US$150 million to the city. He said the parade would generate an estimated US$15 million to the local economy, including souvenir sales.
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