Franklin Field Franklin Field is the University of Pennsylvania ' s stadium for football , field hockey , lacrosse , sprint football , and track and field ( and formerly for soccer and baseball ) . It is also used by Penn students for recreation , and for intramural and club sports , including touch football and cricket , and is the site of Penn ' s graduation exercises , weather permitting . It is located in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , at the eastern edge of Penn ' s campus , across the Schuylkill River from Center City . It is the home of the Penn Relays and was formerly the home field of the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League . History . Franklin Field was built for $ 100 , 000 and dedicated on April 20 , 1895 , for the first running of the Penn Relays . Deemed by the NCAA as the oldest stadium still operating for football , it was the site of the nation ' s first scoreboard in 1895 . Permanent Franklin Field construction did not begin until after the turn of the century . Weightman Hall gymnasium , the stadium , and permanent grandstands were designed by architect Frank Miles Day & Brother and were erected from 1903 to 1905 at a cost of $ 500 , 000 . The field was 714 feet long and 443 feet wide . The site featured a ¼ - mile track , a football field , and a baseball diamond . Beneath the stands were indoor tracks and indoor training facilities . The current stadium structure was built in the 1920s by Day & Klauder , after the original wooden bleachers were torn down . The lower tier was erected in 1922 . The old wood stands were razed immediately following the Penn Relays and the new concrete lower tier and seating for 50 , 000 were built . The second tier was added in 1925 , again by Day & Klauder , when it became the second ( and the largest ) two - tiered stadium in the United States . The first football radio broadcast originated from Franklin Field in 1922 . It was carried by Philadelphia station WIP . This claim is pre - empted by an earlier live radio broadcast emanating from Forbes Field in Pittsburgh , PA , on October 8 , 1921 , a full year before Franklin Field ' s claim to fame . Harold W . Arlin announced the live broadcast of the Pitt - West Virginia football game on October 8 , 1921 , on radio station KDKA . The first commercial football television broadcast in 1939 also came from Franklin Field . In the university ' s football heyday — when Penn led the nation in attendance — the 65 , 000 - seat stadium was expanded each fall with temporary stands to seat 78 , 000 . Today , Franklin Field , named after Penn ' s founder , Benjamin Franklin , seats 52 , 593 . Franklin Field switched from grass to AstroTurf in 1969 . It was the first National Football League stadium to use artificial turf . The stadium ' s fifth AstroTurf surface was installed in 1993 . The current Sprinturf field replaced the AstroTurf in 2004 . Franklin Field was considered a candidate to host games for the 1994 World Cup . FIFA required that host stadiums have natural grass . Had Philadelphia been selected and Franklin Field used , the stadium would have had to return to a grass surface , or perhaps use a temporary grass field as was done at two World Cup sites — Giants Stadium in East Rutherford , New Jersey , and the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac , Michigan . Track and field . Penn Relays . Franklin Field has hosted the annual Penn Relays Carnival , the largest track - and - field meet in the U . S . , for over 100 years . The first Penn Relays was held in 1895 . Frank B . Ellis , chairman of Penn ' s track committee , was looking for an event to mark the dedication of the school ' s then new stadium , Franklin Field . Two years earlier , during his senior year at Penn , Penn and Princeton competed in a one - mile relay race in which four runners from each school each ran a quarter of a mile . That race had been an outgrowth of intramural relay races held at Penn . Ellis and others arranged a series of relay races to take place on Saturday afternoon , April 20 , 1895 . 64 competitors from eight colleges , six prep schools and two high schools took part . Eight two - team races were run with Harvard beating Penn in the mile - relay feature in 3 : 34 . 4 . The Relays were featured in the April 29 , 1961 , premiere of ABC ' s " Wide World of Sports " . Other meets . The 2nd USSR - USA Track and Field dual meet was held at Franklin Field on July 18 and 19 , 1959 . Stars who competed included Parry O ' Brien , Ray Norton , Al Cantello , Hayes Jones , Tamara Press , Vasili Kuznetsov , Dyrol Burleson , Greg Bell , a young Wilma Rudolph , and future long - jump great Igor Ter - Ovanesyan . Franklin Field hosted the NCAA Men ' s Outdoor Track and Field Championship in June 1961 , the first time the championship was held on the East Coast . Seven records were set , and the University of Southern California won its 21st team Track & Field championship . Following the Montreal 1976 Summer Olympics and in honor of the United States Bicentennial , Franklin Field hosted The Bicentennial Meet of Champions track and field event on August 4 , 1976 . Montreal Olympians at the meet included Hasely Crawford , Don Quarrie , Michael Shine and Edwin Moses . The meet was also a chance for top runners including Houston McTear who had not been able to compete in Montreal to race against medal winners . 13 , 722 attended the event and saw Dwight Stones set a record for the high - jump and John Walker win the mile . The University of Pennsylvania hosted the two - day 1980 Liberty Bell Track and Field Classic , an alternate to the 1980 Summer Olympics for 26 countries participating in the American - led boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics which were held in Moscow . The Liberty Bell Classic began on July 16 , 1980 . It was the largest international track meet held in the U . S . since the 1932 Summer Olympics in terms of the number of foreign competitors . Franklin Field hosted the track and field events where 20 , 111 spectators saw the final evening of competitions . In several events , the times were better than those in Moscow , such as American Renaldo Nehemiah ' s time of 13 . 31 in the 110m hurdles ahead of East German gold medal winner Thomas Munkelt ' s time of 13 . 39 . The track in Franklin Field has a rarely used configuration where the 400 metre circumference is achieved in lane 5 , rather than in lane one . Thus there are two curbs on the track , inside of lane one and also inside of lane 5 . In order to accommodate the full fields of the Penn Relays and other meets , special adaptations are made with a movable curb on the backstretch to stagger the runners to arrive at a common break point in lane 5 , rather than the conventional lane one . Single lap races in the inner lanes , run portions of an extra straightaway . Multiple lap races spend the majority of the race in lane 5 to run the proper distances . Football . Penn Quakers . Penn football played on Franklin Field for the first time in 1895 . The University of Pennsylvania was one of the top football schools in the first years of college football . Many consider Penn to have been the national champion in college football in 1894 , 1895 , 1897 and 1904 . Other sources identify Penn as national champions in 1895 , 1897 , 1904 and 1908 . John H . Outland played at Franklin Field for Penn in 1897 and 1898 . On October 26 , 1907 , Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian school trounced a powerful University of Pennsylvania team , 26 - 6 , before an overflow crowd of 20 , 000 at Franklin Field . Red Grange set an NCAA record at Franklin Field when he rushed for 331 yards in the University of Illinois ' 24 - 2 victory over Penn on October 31 , 1925 , before 67 , 877 spectators . On Saturday , November 16 , 2002 , ESPN broadcast College GameDay from Franklin Field prior to the game between Penn and Harvard . Both teams entered the game undefeated and the winner would capture the Ivy League championship . It was College GameDay ' s first broadcast from a Division I - AA college . Penn won the match - up 44 - 9 . The Penn Quakers football team played their 800th game ever at the stadium on October 4 , 2008 , against Dartmouth . Philadelphia Eagles . The Philadelphia Eagles played at Franklin Field from 1958 through 1970 . They moved to the stadium for the 1958 season after leaving Connie Mack Stadium . Franklin Field would seat over 60 , 000 for the Eagles whereas Connie Mack had a capacity of 39 , 000 . According to then - Eagles president Frank L . McNamee , the Eagles did not pay rent for use of Franklin Field because Penn was a not - for - profit organization . Instead , the Eagles donated between $ 75 , 000 and $ 100 , 000 per - year to pay for maintenance and other expenses . The university collected all concessions and parking revenue . On October 11 , 1959 , NFL Commissioner Bert Bell died after suffering a heart - attack at Franklin Field during the last two - minutes of the game between the Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers . The Eagles hosted the 1960 NFL Championship Game here , defeating the Green Bay Packers , 17 - 13 , in Packers ' coach Vince Lombardi ' s only career playoff loss . Attendance for the championship was 67 , 325 . Two infamous incidents in Eagles history occurred at the stadium . Santa Claus booed . During the December 15 , 1968 , game against the Minnesota Vikings , a Christmas show was planned for halftime . The Eagles had entered the game 2 - 11 . Fans hated Eagles quarterback Norm Snead , owner Jerry Wolman and coach Joe Kuharich . Many fans came to the game wearing " Joe Must Go " buttons . The man meant to play Santa was unable to make it to Franklin Field due to the weather . In lieu of the original halftime show , a 19 - year - old fan named Frank Olivo who had been wearing a Santa Claus costume , was invited onto the field to toss candy - canes with the cheerleaders . Frustrated by the team , the ugly wet weather , and his unconvincing beard , fans booed Olivo and threw snowballs at him . This incident is often referred to by sportscasters in denigrating Philadelphia sports fans as so mean they booed Santa Claus . The Eagles lost the game 24 to 17 . Olivo continued to attend Eagles games and even dressed as Santa Claus at the Eagles ' December 27 , 2009 , game against the Denver Broncos at Lincoln Financial Field . When the 1969 season started , only Snead was still around . Wolman sold the team in the offseason to Leonard Tose , who promptly fired Kuharich . Howard Cosell taken ill . On November 23 , 1970 , announcer Howard Cosell was apparently drunk during a nationally televised broadcast of the Eagles - New York Giants " Monday Night Football " game . After throwing up on color commentator Don Meredith ' s cowboy boots shortly before halftime , Cosell left the stadium and took a taxi back to New York City . Meredith and play - by - play announcer Keith Jackson made little mention of his departure during the second half . Later , denying drunkenness , Cosell claimed that he had been dizzy from running laps around Franklin Field ' s track before the game with track star Tommie Smith . Other college football . The Army - Navy football game was played 18 times at Franklin Field between 1899 and 1935 before moving to the larger Municipal Stadium in South Philadelphia in 1936 . Penn alumnus and Olympic - medalist George Orton ( who had worked with Frank Ellis in managing the Penn Relays ) is credited with helping to bring the game to Philadelphia in 1899 . Temple University played its home football games at Temple Stadium until the late 1970s . Temple Stadium had opened in 1928 and sat up to 34 , 000 for football . Over the years , Temple had played home games at Franklin Field when crowds were expected to exceed Temple Stadium ' s capacity . Temple moved its home games to Veterans Stadium in the late 1970s but the Phillies had priority for the field for Saturdays during baseball season , which ends the last week in September . When Temple home games conflicted with Phillies home games , Temple would play at Franklin Field . This continued through the 2002 season , Temple ' s final year at the Vet before the Owls moved to Lincoln Financial Field as tenants of the Eagles . One of the last Temple football games at Franklin Field was a 44 - 21 loss to the number - one - ranked Miami Hurricanes on September 14 , 2002 ; Miami ' s Willis McGahee rushed for 134 yards and four touchdowns in front of 33 , 169 fans . Other professional football . The NFL ' s Frankford Yellow Jackets hosted the Dayton Triangles on September 24 , 1927 , at Franklin Field . The Yellow Jackets usually played their home games in the Frankford section of Philadelphia . The Triangles won 6 - 3 . On August 23 , 1958 , the first Canadian Football League game played on American soil between two Canadian teams was played at Franklin Field , as the Hamilton Tiger - Cats defeated the Ottawa Rough Riders , 13 - 7 . Franklin Field hosted a United States Football League divisional semi - final game on June 30 , 1984 , between the host Philadelphia Stars and the visiting New Jersey Generals . The Stars were forced to play the game at Franklin Field because the Philadelphia Phillies had a game scheduled at Veterans Stadium that weekend . The Stars defeated the Generals 28 - 7 behind two touchdowns from RB Kelvin Bryant . A crowd of 19 , 038 took in the game on a warm , overcast afternoon . The game was broadcast nationally on ABC Sports . Other sports . Franklin Field served as Penn ' s baseball field early in its history , as records show that the varsity played here from 1895 until at least 1924 . Franklin Field was the long - time home of Philadelphia ' s City Title high school football championship game . The game was held at the stadium in 1938 , 1940 , 1941 , and from 1943 through 1972 , before it moved to Veterans Stadium . On Thanksgiving Day , 1941 , 40 , 000 fans watched West Philadelphia tie West Philadelphia Catholic 0 - 0 . In 1945 , 54 , 000 fans saw Southern beat West Catholic 18 - 13 . The 1946 game , played before 60 , 000 , ended in a riot when Northeast fans stormed the field in the final minute of the school ' s 33 - 26 victory over West Catholic , prompting West Catholic fans to do the same . The NASL Philadelphia Atoms had played at Veterans Stadium from 1973 - 1975 . They moved to Franklin Field in 1976 which had better sight lines for soccer . Attendance was 8 , 400 for the home opener on May 2 , 1976 . They drew a season high of 25 , 000 for the July 17 match against the New York Cosmos which featured soccer great Pele . The team averaged 6 , 449 at Franklin Field for their 11 home matches in 1976 . The Philadelphia Fury hosted a play - off game against the Tampa Bay Rowdies on August 23 , 1979 , at Franklin Field when the Fury ' s home field , Veterans Stadium , was being used by the Phillies . Franklin Field was one of fifteen United States stadia ( along with John F . Kennedy Stadium , also in Philadelphia ) inspected by a five - member FIFA committee in April 1988 in the evaluation of the United States as a possible host of the 1994 FIFA World Cup . On August 25 , 1989 , a crowd of 43 , 356 at Franklin Field saw the US national soccer team defeat Dnepr of the Soviet Top League by 1 - 0 . Eric Eichmann scored the lone goal in the 12th minute of the game . On November 30 , 2004 , Franklin Field was home to the first rugby league match between the United States and Australia . The United States led the World Cup - holders Australia for much of the game , but eventually lost 36 - 24 . The stadium hosted the Division I NCAA Men ' s Lacrosse Championship in 1973 and 1992 and the NCAA Division I Women ' s Lacrosse Championship in May 2007 . Other events . The stadium was the site of the speech by President Franklin D . Roosevelt in which he accepted the 1936 Democratic Party ' s nomination for a second term as president . It is estimated that a crowd of 100 , 000 sat through intermittent rain at Franklin Field to hear FDR ' s speech . Drum Corps International held its annual Drum and Bugle Corps World Championships at the stadium in 1975 and 1976 . In 1997 , Franklin Field hosted Irish band U2 during the first leg of their Pop Mart Tour on June 8 . This was the stadium ' s first concert since the 1970s . The 2000 M . Night Shyamalan - directed movie " Unbreakable " prominently features Franklin Field as one of the main locations in the film . The film ' s main character , played by Bruce Willis , plays a security guard at the stadium . In the 2006 movie " Invincible " , Franklin Field served as a stand - in for the demolished Veterans Stadium , images of which were digitally superimposed on some of the football action sequences .