Stanley Cup playoffs costing Surrey $500,000 for police
Surrey has racked up close to $500,000 in policing costs during the Vancouver Canucks' playoff series.
The price is much higher than earlier estimates, but police say that's the cost of keeping the public safe, particularly with the crushing crowds and traffic at 72 Avenue and Scott Road.
Surrey RCMP Cpl.. Drew Grainger was looking at the overtime submissions on Wednesday afternoon, just hours before Game 7 of the Canucks-Boston Bruins series.
"All the overtime is just coming in," Grainger said. "Here we are at Game 7, so I've got a pretty good idea of what we're looking at here. Right now we're looking at $40,000 per game in round four with the resources we're throwing at it."
That's $280,000 for the Boston series alone. Add in the previous three series and the cost jumps to about a $500,000.
Mayor Dianne Watts was a little skeptical when she heard of the final costs.
"On the surface of it, it sounds extraordinarily high," she said.
Watts couldn't say whether she would be asking the province to help foot the bill.
"That is certainly an extraordinary amount to pay over the course of the playoffs," Watts said. "I'd like to drill down on those numbers a bit before I make any further comment on it."
Three-and-a half hours before the puck was dropped, Watts said she believed the Canucks would take the Stanley Cup in a two-to-one win.
When pressed how that would take place, she said it would be goals by Sedin and Kesler. The game, she feels, will end in the first period of overtime.
@diakiw
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