CITY OF LAKERS

Long after the last bits of confetti from the Lakers’ victory parade are swept off Figueroa Street, the economic and emotional impact of the team’s dramatic drive to the NBA championship will be felt throughout the city.

The ripples may be large, such as the 25% jump in business several local restaurants enjoyed on game days. Or they may be relatively small, such as the extra dollars the Lakers’ extended postseason brought to souvenir vendors and Staples Center employees.

And not all the impact may be positive: The vandalism that followed the Lakers’ title-clinching victory over the Indiana Pacers on Monday at Staples Center resulted in at least a half-million dollars’ damage to nearby businesses and was televised repeatedly around the world, tarnishing the city’s image.

But ultimately, local restaurant owners and observers say the Lakers’ success has brought Los Angeles much more than a glistening trophy for Shaquille O’Neal to hold and a banner for the team to raise at Staples Center next season. The excitement generated by the team’s playoff run has stepped up the revitalization of the downtown area, they say, and it may have sown the seeds of greater growth to come.

“I went to [Game 2 of the finals] and just the whole downtown environment changes,” said Linda Griego, managing general partner of the Engine Co. 28 restaurant on Figueroa. “There were people walking and talking about the game and having a good time. I took the shuttle to the game, and even the people who didn’t stop at our restaurant would say, ‘That looks like a nice place. I’ll come here next time I go to a game or a concert.’ It’s like future advertising.”

Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., acknowledged the postgame hooliganism could have an adverse impact. However, he said the rapid cleanup and the mostly well-mannered enthusiasm shown by the throngs at Wednesday’s parade will outweigh the bad memories created by the looting and car-burning Monday.

“It’s a unifying thing for the city,” Kyser said of the Lakers’ triumph. “I was out walking through downtown [Wednesday] and people were on their way to the parade and they were excited, but polite. It’s nice to have something good happen here after so many contentious things we’ve had, like Belmont and Rampart.

“In terms of a dollar figure, it’s hard to put an economic price tag on it. I’d say around $35 million. It’s a little bump. L.A. County is a $300-billion economy. This is the supertanker of local economies. It’s a little bump, but every bit helps.”

Kyser said events such as the Super Bowl or Rose Bowl have greater economic impact because more people come in from out of town and spend money on hotels, restaurants, taxis and parties. He valued the impact of the Academy Awards to the city at $60 million, while the Grammys, held in March at Staples Center, generated about $25 million locally through advertising, parties, catering, limousine rentals and the event’s production costs.

Restaurants near Staples Center enjoyed significant increases in business during the playoffs, although Johnny Kim, general manager of the California Pizza Kitchen at 7th and Figueroa, said the 6 p.m. starting times in the finals flattened numbers by cutting into the dinner hour. All in all, he’s not complaining, because he saw a 25% increase on days of Laker home games.

“The games that started at 7 or 7:30, we definitely got a little rush,” he said. “The Lakers going so deep into the playoffs makes for a huge impact for us. It was great.”

Griego put the increase in business on game nights at 26% over the same period last season, when the Lakers played at the Great Western Forum.

“There was definitely a very, very robust surge,” she said. “Having the Lakers at Staples Center has been very good for us.

“It’s more competitive, because there are more restaurants downtown, but business was certainly better than last year, and last year was a great year for businesses in downtown L.A.”

Said Shawn Laughingtree, general manager of Ciudad, at 5th and Figueroa: “We’ve definitely gotten better business out of it. Especially when the Lakers have won, because people are more inclined to come by afterward.”

The Lakers’ triumph will also improve their own financial bottom line. They get an undisclosed cut of the nearly $2 million that Staples Center takes in for every sold-out playoff home game, and about $2 million from parking, concessions and merchandise sales at each game. Fox benefited financially too, through its 40% ownership stake in Staples Center, its 9% share of the Lakers and its ownership of Fox television.

Todd Merkow, vice president and general manager of Fox Sports Net and Fox Sports Net 2, wouldn’t disclose the company’s take from each telecast, but it’s believed it averaged close to $1 million from the five games it showed. It averaged a 9.6 rating for those games, including a record 10.3 for Game 5 of the first round against Sacramento and 10.1 for Game 2 of the Western Conference finals against Portland.

KCAL-TV Channel 9 also shared in the bonanza, grossing about $1.5 million from each of the four games it televised.

“Over the long term, the value of the team increases for us, and it will do the same for other businesses,” Merkow said. “One of the greatest things we get from our association with them is now we can say we’re the TV home of the world champion Lakers.

“Our ratings were great. As for what we’ll see long term, I think viewership will increase and ad sales and sponsorships will increase. People want to be part of a winner.”

By association, the city may be a winner too, and that may be the most enduring and important impact of the team’s triumph.

Kathy Schloessman, president of the L.A. Sports and Entertainment Commission, believes people will have new and positive perceptions of the team, the arena and the city.

“The impact is significant in several ways,” she said. “One is the prominence of the Staples Center and the publicity it got from all the coverage of the finals, in terms of it being a world-class venue. This put it on the map, which it would have been two months from now, anyway, with the DNC [Democratic National Convention]. It’s going to be significant, just the positive image of L.A., and not the image of [Monday’s unrest].

“That’s positive publicity that has a positive impact on tourism and people seeing what a great city L.A. is and how people really got into following the Lakers. One of the big knocks we get from people thinking about coming here is they think everyone in L.A. is so blase. I think that myth was rectified [Monday], when 10,000 people gathered outside the arena to cheer the game on the big-screen TV.”

The Lakers’ championship may also lead to a tiny impact on the sale of sporting goods. “A friend and I said we’re going to buy a hoop and start shooting free throws, just for fun,” Schloessman said. “I hope I’m going to look more like Reggie Miller than Shaq.”