San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee tweeted "Proud to present superhero #SFBatkid with Key to the City for his heroic Dark Knight actions in Gotham today."
Batkid rescued San Francisco, and now we know at what cost.
The Nov. 15 Make-a-Wish event for Miles Scott, a 5-year-old leukemia patient, cost the city $105,000, The San Francisco Chronicle reports. Most of that money was used for the Civic Center celebration in which thousands of fans cheered Miles on and Mayor Ed Lee presented the young hero with a chocolate key to the city.
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Organizers expected the event, for which Miles dressed as Batman to capture villains around the city, would attract a few hundred volunteers, but an estimated 14,500 ended up participating.
Officials say the police officers on the scene were already on duty, and just shifted locations to accommodate the crowd. The same was true of the Department of Public Works employees who cleaned up in the aftermath.
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The city is paying the bill using money it charges conventions to rent its Moscone Center, which is also the same fund that bankrolls the city’s $150,000 Fourth of July fireworks show.
Batkid earned rave reviews online, and also got the official thumbs-up from three Batmen: Michael Keaton, Christian Bale and Ben Affleck.
