Lakers parade: Crowds clog streets, fill Coliseum [Updated]

Clogging streets and mass transit, tens of thousands of people converged on downtown L.A. this morning for a parade celebrating the Lakers NBA championship.

The Los Angeles Police Department reported no major incidents so far, though some Lakers fans surged one of the gates at the L.A. Memorial Coliseum, where the parade will end and ceremonies will be held. As of 9:50 a.m., the Coliseum was two-thirds full, and police expected it to fill to capacity. The Coliseum seats more than 93,000 people.

[Updated at 10:10 a.m.: LAPD Chief William J. Bratton announced that the Coliseum is now filled to capacity and that fans should go elsewhere. “The stadium is full. You want to get along the parade route,” Bratton told KTLA News.]

[Updated at 11:02 a.m.: The buses carrying the Lakers along the parade route are about to start rolling. They were delayed a bit when Lamar Odom was late because of traffic. Deputy Police Chief Kirk Albanese addressed the players in the locker room beforehand. Officials urged them not to throw anything toward fans -- even if fans throw things at them. Pau Gasol and Derek Fisher were designated to address the crowd if there are safety issues. The players will urge fans to calm down and behave properly.]

LAPD officials are concerned about an overflow crowd and are planning for what to do if the crowds continue to build. Officials plan to announce to the public when the Coliseum fills up.

There were reports that buses and trains are also filled to capacity as people come into downtown.

The parade is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. at Staples Center and proceed south on Figueroa Street to the Coliseum.

TRANSPORTATION: Traffic is expected to be jammed in the vicinity of the parade route, particularly in southern downtown L.A. and the USC area. The MTA says bus service will be affected by the celebration. Expect delays on the following MTA routes: 28, 30, 31, 35, 37, 38, 40, 42, 55, 70, 71, 76, 78, 79, 81, 102, 200, 204, 335, 355, 378, 439, 442, 444, 445, 446, 447, 450x, 460, 484, 485, 550, 714, 728, 730, 740, 754 and 770. The MTA has added trains to the Blue Line, Red Line, Purple Line, Green Line and Gold Line to help get people to and from the parade. 

STREET CLOSURES: Dozens of streets are closed. Most of the closures are within an area bounded by Martin Luther King Boulevard, Jefferson Boulevard, Hoover Street, Union Avenue, 9th Street and Broadway. They include Figueroa, Flower Street, Pico Boulevard and Washington Boulevard. Several exits to the 110 and 10 freeways also are closed. 

SECURITY: The LAPD is out in force on the parade route and at the Coliseum, hoping to avoid a repeat of the problems after the Lakers won the NBA championship Sunday night. “It is no secret we will have a very strong uniformed presence along the parade route,” said LAPD Cmdr. Andrew Smith. “It is no secret we will have undercover officers in the crowd, and we are going to be careful to arrest anyone out of control.” Smith said the LAPD will have extra jailers and a mobile jail ready to hold anyone who disturbs the celebration, which is expected to last about three hours. “If you throw something at the parade, you will go to jail," he said. "If you set light to something, you will go to jail. If you break anything, you will go to jail.”

 

-- Andrew Blankstein

Comments

[dave]

Dear City of LA,
Next time you hold a party I'm helping to pay for, schedule it when someone other than the UNEMPLOYED, HOMELESS, AND PAROLLED ARSONISTS can attend. Some of us employed taxpayers would like to go too.
Hats off to the sponsors.

[Very simple]

I don't think I have ever seen so many ghetto slackers without jobs or school in one confined area before.

[luvwknd]

Championship after championship, the Lakers are still the most hated team in NBA history!
Primarly due to their prima-donna attitude towards everybody else, Kobe is the biggest punk in the NBA and all players know it!
Have your parade you losers as human beings!

[Chris Markel]

If the LAPD arrested every person with a LA Lakers hat and shirt on, crime would drop in the City by 98% in one day. All of the Lakers fans are stone criminals and thugs. I'm sure they will all be wearing those brand new athlectic shoes they stole during the rioting and looting on Sunday. They are probably too dumb to even tage the price tags off.

[Dana Gabbard]

Starting next year the Coliseum will be served by light rail, as the Expo line first phase is slated to open. Eventually it will link downtown L.A. and Santa Monica. That will really improve access.

[Guido]

I'm sorry Laker fans. This is a gross waste of money by a city that's basically bankrupt.

[Ed C.]

I bet 50% of them really have a 9-to-5...they're just calling in sick. Still a Laker fan though I'm sitting here in the office.

[JoeLaker]

All of you people who think that this is waste of money, stop and think about it for second: they aren't throwing the cash in a barrel and burning it. It's mostly going to pay for people to be serving in some capacity today who will in turn have extra cash to spend next week. Some of it will pay for the use of a facility that would be sitting empty. That means cash that we won't be taxed for. People who attend will buy drinks and food in the local community. That means more jobs and more tax revenue. Whether or not you are a Laker hater you have to admit, money being spent and made is good for the community!

[lakerk]

man lakers got lucky the only reason they won was because magics was a young team dont worry when boston get kg back they go come back strong for tht laker ass

[Virginia]

HATERS

[Gena Brenan]

This morning at 11 am, Los Angeles is celebrating.

The Los Angeles Lakers brought home yet another World Championship. Everyone rejoice and cheer since our beloved heroes are going to grace us with their presence in a huge parade through the streets of Los Angeles.

Are you out of your mind?

I will preface this with a disclaimer. I don’t like basketball. Never have, probably never will. I have attended one game because we were given phenomenal seats for a Clippers game. I enjoyed myself only because of the amusing music selections determined by who had the ball. When the Clippers had the ball, it was an upbeat selection, and when the opposing team had the ball, it was a menacing melody. It was good guy/bad guy music set to a sport. But even that wasn’t enough to keep me interested.

However, I do recognize that sports are important to a city. I have enjoyed baseball games, hockey games, even football, which is only slightly less offensive than basketball. When your home team wins, it is awesome. I watched the 1988 Los Angeles Dodgers win the World Series and I was elated with pride. I felt the same way about a team that I never routed for before, the Red Sox, when they finally broke their curse with their World Series win a few years back. I even have cheered the Ducks when they won the Stanley Cup, and they are rivals of my Kings! It doesn’t really matter the sport, it just matters that we are enjoyed the game and cheer the victors.

But where do we draw that line? Does every championship need that much fanfare? And more importantly, does the fanfare need to cost millions of dollars?

Athletes as it is, make gobs of cash for a game. They are good at it, and they make a franchise a crap load of money for their talent, therefore giving many people jobs, and even more people hours of enjoyment at the ballpark, local sports bar or even their own home. We could make the argument that all of the places you watch a sport put money into the economy. From the ticket price, to the beers bought at Nationals to the pizza you ordered from your living room. Professional sports are big business, and not just to the owners.

Perhaps we should in fact celebrate their victory with vigor. Didn’t they in fact not only give us entertainment, but they possibly are one of the only things that is still stimulating our hurting economy?

Even though I agree that these are all good reasons, I don’t think they are enough to warrant the parade scheduled for this morning.

I am not the only one who feels this way. There was a lot of backlash about the price tag on this little shin dig. We are a city, we are a state, in financial crisis. Jobs are being eliminated, city workers put on furlough and budgets slashed across the board. Isn’t it a tad irresponsible to throw a party just because some sports team played a game, made lots of money for themselves, and let’s face it, will do it again.

Bernard Parks had the audacity to say, “"I don't think we have a choice, this is one of those things that happen once in a decade."

Has he only lived in LA for a week?

Let’s look at the facts. The Lakers since their creation in 1948, they have only missed the NBA playoffs 5 times. They have 15 NBA titles, with 4 of those championships this decade. 4 out of the last 9 years they won! Hardly a once in a decade sort of situation.

The criticism resulted in today’s parade being paid partially by the Lakers organization and other sponsors, guaranteeing any costs the city would have been responsible for being covered. Great, problem solved, right?

Does this check being cut to LA cover the citizens that got to work late because of the freeway closures this morning? Does it cover the businesses that are likely to be closed along the parade route due to the congestion of fans converging along the route? Does it cover the messes that are not on city property? Does it cover the productivity slum that may occur when employees log onto the live broadcast from their work computers? I realize that these may seem like minor expenses, but what I am trying to say is that by paying the city for this, it doesn’t cover all costs of a major event like a parade in downtown.

In addition to these costs, there is the possibility of violence and vandalism. This isn’t news to anyone, especially since some of the players records PSA’s begging our city to not go stupid. If we really think that there is even the slightest chance of riots, shouldn’t we reconsider rewarding the team and city? When someone is killed by this violence, no amount of corporate sponsorship is going to cover that loss.

Be happy for your win, cheer for your team, enjoy your moment, but don’t for one moment think that this was so important that we spent as a community 2 million plus dollars on a frivolous party when there are so many more important things that need that kind of funding. Hey, Lakers players? I applaud your skills on the court, but instead of us celebrating you, maybe you should celebrate your city and volunteer this morning at a shelter instead of expecting adoration from Angelinos? Homeless shelters, unemployment issues, health care, and any other countless number of things rank higher than a parade right now. We should have an escape, we should have something to celebrate every once in a while, but we need to keep it in perspective. A man in Hermosa Beach was found this week in his apartment with a gunshot wound to his head. It was self inflicted only moments after he set his apartment ablaze. The reason? He couldn’t make rent this month. Do you think he was celebrating a 5 game series?

[Catherine]

Guido,
The mayor found private donors to cover the entire cost.
Although I think the Lakers should've paid for the entire thing, personally

[Maddie]

When the Houston Rockets won back-to-back championships there was NO rioting, NO crime or misbehavior whatsoever. People were all in good spirits, laughing and celebrating, but wisely. It is so obvious that Houstonians are superior to the LA fans. So there.

[Rational]

Those that whine about how much this parade will cost are not seeing the big picture. I can guarantee that the city will make a small fortune on this parade. 200,000+ people flooding into the city will pay for parking, food/drinks, gas, souvenirs, public transportation, etc. They will more than make up for the estimated $1 million cost of the celebration.

[kate]

Wow. Sounds like most of the "ugly Americans" commenting here either have racial issues or are experiencing some sour grapes. If you read your local paper (LA Times) you'd know that the parade has been underwritten by the Laker management and other funders. So, no your taxes are not paying for it. Obviously, by the Times ongoing overage - well over 100,000 fans don't share your angry views and do, in fact, want to celebrate the home team.

As for me, warmest congratulatios to the LA Lakers - I am proud of your class, accomplishments and your team work. Congrats also to Phil Jackson on his winning milestone.

[AlluringTK]

It appears that many are assuming that the parade was funded by the city as in the past. CNN Headlline news announced this morning that the league and multiple donations are covering the expenses for the parade. The City of LA [taxpayers] are not incurring this expense.

[Dave, Santa Barbara]

Nice to see the angry Laker-haters calling out the "unemployed." I'm assuming you have work to do in between following the parade on TV and posting online?

[al]

Cheers to all those collecting welfare and unemployment at the parade. Shame on those who work to support them. On a not so sarcastic side note, GO LAKERS!

[Bambi]

I love Laker haters. Like they say, you're no one unless someone hates you. Eat your hearts out Laker haters. We Lakers lovers are enjoying the Lakers 15th championship and fourth this decade. Laker are the team of the decade. GO LAKERS!!!!!

[Montse Osorio]

It's unfortunate that a few drunk morons continue to give Lakers and Dodgers fans a bad rap. As for all of the negative responses regarding to actual Parade I just have 1 thing to say, "Get a Life!" The show must go on! The Lakers and private sponsors will be funding it. Don't worry about your tax dollars, I'm sure the Governator will find better ways to waste them like laying of more Teachers. Go Lakers! Next Parade? October!

[PC]

To Chris. Yes, I saw all the loosers and thugs you mentioned at the game.

The Rolls-Royces that were in the lot were probably all stolen too I guess. So were the front row seats that probably cost more than your annual salary to sit in..Stay in your ignorant world.

[Laker Fan]

Wow, some interesting comments here. Chris Markel - interestingly you and I share a common last name. I'm ashamed of that fact. Anyone that could so senselessly generalize about tens of millions of fans is an idiot. Perhaps the people with the most time on their hands are the ones with time to wreck havoc, while the rest of us fans were with our families or sitting at our desks?

And, yes, you might be right about the crime rate dropping. Using similar logic, I suspect that if all men in the city of LA were arrested, crime would also drop 98%.

Guido - wasn't it reported that the parade was being financed through private donations and those from the team, rather than public funds, for exactly the reason you cite?

Finally, Dave - I generally agree with you, although I'm not sure you're helping pay for it anymore, at least based on the claims made by organizers regarding private funds.

[Gabriel A.]

All I have to say to the people who left comments below is to stop being so bitter that your team didn't win. The Lakers have the best player and coach of all time so accept that a three-peat will be in line for the next couple of years. And for the cry baby that works who would like to go to the "party" even though it's a parade all I have to say is take a vacation day! Seems that you couldn't process or think of that through your little head. Chris Markel and luvwknd are just plain racist people. Congrats to the best franchise in the NBA!!!!!!! GO LAKERS!!!!!

[Steven]

Beautiful live feed from ktla helicopter. Even a displaced Valley boy in grad school in Madison, WI can enjoy the Laker parade!

[Central Valley Guy]

It looks like most of the commenters here are far dumber than the average Lakers fan (a pretty wide-ranging group of which I am proud to count myself). The city did not pay for this. It was picked up by the Lakers and private donations. So stop hating and get on with your sorry lives.

[RoyBatty]

Los Angelenos' tax dollars are not paying for this parade. The Lakers organization along with Private donations have completely offset the cost.

[Veronica]

as for the comment by Chris Marke - "All of the Lakers fans are stone criminals and thugs" - what an ignorant statement to make, clearly an uneducated stereotype. I love the Lakers and an a valuable asset to the working class of Los Angeles.

[Cool Kid]

Racism,Racism, Racism. Just because Los Angeles is overwhelmingly Latino we get hated on if something goes wrong. Every team we root for Dodgers, Lakers, Galaxy, Raiders are considered thug and criminal teams. Some of you should go back to connecticut and Boston MA.

[graciela]

If only the mayor and city council put the same type of effort and ingenuity into fixing the budget problems in our city the way they managed to find the funds for a party.

[Jesse]

I was wearing a Lakers shirt and I've never committed a crime in my life.

Its nice to see how quickly it becomes a race, and class issue. I have a job and was allowed to take some time off to celebrate. People on here act like if this happens every year in LA. It's been 7 years and it was paid for by private donors! Get over yourself!!! If Boston would have had a parade despite economic woes, no one would have said a thing.

LA is just the most hated city in the US, there's always a double standard.

[Lalo]

The parade was a major success despite overwhelming attendance. I took a vacation day and would have taken a non-paid day if I had to. It was an immense experience like no other.

All you Laker haters & racists should go back to that rat hole you came from. This is the best city in the world! Watch out for that re-peat, three peat, and a Dodgers championship!