The New York Knicks finally did it, snapping a 53-year championship drought by taking down the San Antonio Spurs in five games. Now, New York basketball fans are showing they will spend whatever it takes to get a clear view of the celebration.

The city is bracing for a giant turnout on Thursday when the team rides up Broadway through the Canyon of Heroes in Lower Manhattan. With hundreds of thousands of people expected to pack the sidewalks, securing a prime spot has become an expensive game.

Fans are turning to apps like Airtasker to hire gig workers to handle the pre-parade waiting game. A report from the New York Daily News highlighted listings offering $100 to stand on the pavement for hours. One die-hard fan went even further, offering $750 for someone to show up at midnight and hold a spot until 8 a.m., two hours before the floats even start moving.

This is a historic moment for the city, as it is the franchise's first actual championship parade. Back when the Knicks won it all in 1970 and 1973, then-Mayor John Lindsay did not throw parades. The 1970 squad got a lawn party at Gracie Mansion, and the 1973 team got a luncheon and a gathering at City Hall that drew about 2,000 people.

Thursday's crowd is going to look different. After the floats wrap up their route, Mayor Zohran Mamdani is hosting a ceremony at City Hall Plaza to hand the Knicks the Key to the City.

Mamdani said in a statement that New Yorkers have waited more than five decades for this, sticking by the team through decades of heartbreak and near misses.

While most fans will be fighting for space on the street, a few hundred will get a front-row seat. The city is giving away 600 free tickets to the City Hall ceremony through a public lottery on NBA.com, with 300 winners each receiving a pair of passes.

The players have already been having a blast around town since clinching the title on Saturday. The whole roster stopped by Jimmy Fallon's show on Monday night, and individual players have been spotted all over the boroughs. Guard Jose Alvarado, a native New Yorker, rode in Brooklyn's Puerto Rican Day parade with the mayor. Big man Karl-Anthony Towns surprised fans by working a shift at Raising Cane's while signing jerseys, and Mikal Bridges had fans buzzing with an impromptu livestream.

Everything builds up to Thursday morning, when the city comes to a halt to celebrate the new champions.