Phoenix PD expects costs to be within Super Bowl budget

PHOENIX – The Phoenix Police Department says the Super Bowl and its related events went off without a hitch in more ways than one.

Besides not having any significant public safety incidents, the department also reports that everything appears to have gone according to plan with its budget for the big game.

The department has been tallying its overtime and premium pay surrounding the game and said it expects to be right on point.

Sgt. Trent Crump said for this fiscal year the department budgeted an extra $1.5 million for operating costs in expectation of the Super Bowl and so far those costs have amounted to roughly $1.2 million.

“We had a lot of planning meetings and teams that were put together, and a lot of long shifts that we had to pay for, but so far so good,” he said.

Crump said the department learned a lot about budgeting for events such as the Super Bowl from the last time the game was in town and he expects this year’s costs to be close to half of what they were in 2008.

The department has not yet finished totaling all the numbers as of Thursday, but Crump said the final amount should be right about the $1.5 million budgeted.

“We are pleased with that number. It is something that we were striving for in trying to get the event done like we did, as safe as we did and with as little cost,” he said.