Handling the hordes covering the Kobe Bryant case hasn't been cheap, but it's not a budget-buster, either.

So far, the case has cost the town of Eagle and Eagle County about $10,000 each. County funds were spent primarily on hosting the hundreds of news types and members of the public who attended Bryant's Aug. 6 court appearance.

The vast majority of the town's expenses have come in legal fees connected with defending the town in a lawsuit filed by the Vail Daily and Colorado Mountain News Media, which owns the daily paper and the Eagle Valley Enterprise.

The town was sued for the release of dispatch records regarding 911 calls made from the home of the alleged victim in the Bryant case. The Eagle Town Board has earmarked $8,600 for Town Attorney Ed Sands' work on the case.

Sands said much of the time spent on the case involved legal research and writing briefs filed with District Judge Richard Hart.

The town's position is that as the custodian of the records, it can keep back documents if it deems the public interest would be harmed by releasing them. Town Manager Willy Powell said the circumstances of the case meet the letter and spirit of the law.

The Vail Daily suit alleges that the records should be public, and the town should not make the decision of what's in the public interest. The University of Northern Colorado police and the city of Newport Beach, Calif., have released similar records recently when requested.

Hart has not yet ruled on the case.

Sands said if the town loses the case, it probably won't appeal, but would continue litigating if the Vail Daily loses and appeals. Rohn Robbins, attorney representing the Vail Daily, said his client hasn't yet discussed an appeal.