The Knicks' ticker-tape parade is conquering a modern-day reality: Offices barely use any paper

By Lukas I. Alpert

Over 2,500 pounds of paper will rain on the Knicks as New York City overcomes windows that don't open and the death of actual ticker tape

The tradition of the ticker-tape parade in New York City dates back to 1886, when traders threw used paper tape from their stock tickers out the window. In recent decades, shredded office paper has been used.

There are some traditions that never die.

When the Big Apple throws a ticker-tape parade for the New York Knicks on Thursday to celebrate the team's first NBA championship in 53 years, 2,500 pounds of paper will rain down upon the victors and their fans.

But it's been 65 years since anyone last used ticker tape. That's been replaced by shredded office paper, which is itself in lower supply as offices use less and less of it. So where does all the paper come from?

Enter the Downtown Alliance, the organization that manages Lower Manhattan's Business Improvement District. Days ahead of the Knicks' championship-clinching Game 5 victory over the San Antonio Spurs, the alliance was already ordering the 1.25 tons of recycled shredded paper to have at the ready.

"We started getting things together around Game 3," said Jessica Lappin, the alliance's president. "We were confident that the Knicks had what it takes to win."

She said she hopped on the phone with packing- and shipping-supply company Uline, and ordered 2,500 pounds of shredded paper.

The paper comes in large boxes but alliance staffers transfer it into dozens of clear plastic bags, which they then distribute to office buildings overlooking the mile-long "Canyon of Heroes" parade route that runs along Broadway between the Battery and City Hall.

It's a tradition that dates back to 1886, and there have been over 200 such parades since then, celebrating great explorers, war heroes and champion athletes. The practice started when the financial-services companies that lined lower Broadway would throw their used stock-ticker tape out the window onto the conquering heroes passing below.

For decades, the city hosted several a year, but the practice began tapering off in the late 1960s. By that point, stock traders had moved away from using old-fashioned stock tickers and their endless spools of paper tape.

When the Knicks last won the championship in 1973, the then-cash-strapped city didn't throw them a parade, just a ceremony at City Hall.

In recent decades, the parades have largely been reserved for title-winning New York sports teams. The last ticker-tape parade the city hosted was in 2024 for the New York Liberty, when they won the WNBA championship.

Nowadays, about 25 buildings along the parade route take part in receiving some of the paper supply.

"In the modern day, not all buildings along the route have windows that open, but enough still do," Lappin said.

After the parade, the New York City Department of Sanitation swoops into action to sweep up the thousands of pounds of paper.

The cost to the alliance for all the paper is about $7,500.

"We're happy to do it," Lappin said. "It's our contribution to the city."

-Lukas I. Alpert

This content was created by MarketWatch, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. MarketWatch is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

06-17-26 1534ET