I could understand maybe the family giving a donation, if they felt that they wanted to. Since the city was very courteous to them. But they shouldn't have to pay for the entire thing. There shouldn't be any obligations for them.
And I agree, maybe the fans would feel much more apt to donate if the memorial was geared more towards the fans. I know that it is a memorial and it is personal, and I know that they were given tickets to come inside and watch, but did the Jackson's honestly have 9,000 personal friends that felt they needed to come and grieve for Michael? I'm sure that there were 9,000 fans somewhere who would have loved to be there...
I'm just saying! Take my two cents with a grain of sand because I may be one of the few people who think this...