John F . Kennedy Stadium John F . Kennedy Stadium ( formally Philadelphia Municipal Stadium ) was an open - air stadium in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania that stood from 1926 to 1992 . The South Philadelphia stadium was situated on the east side of the far southern end of Broad Street at a location that is now part of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex . Designed by the architectural firm of Simon & Simon in a classic 1920s style with a horseshoe seating design that surrounded a track and football field , at its peak the facility seated in excess of 102 , 000 people . Bleachers were later added at the open ( North ) end . Each section of the main portion of the stadium contained its own entrance , which displayed the letters of each section above the entrance , in a nod to ancient Roman stadia . Section designators were divided at the south end of the stadium ( the bottom of the " U " shape ) between West and East , starting with Sections WA and EA and proceeding north . The north bleachers started with Section NA . The field was wide and long . It was built of concrete , stone , and brick on a tract . Opening and names . JFK Stadium was built as part of the 1926 Sesquicentennial International Exposition . Originally known as Sesquicentennial Stadium when it opened April 15 , 1926 , the structure was renamed " Philadelphia Municipal Stadium " after the Exposition ' s closing ceremonies . In 1964 it was renamed John F . Kennedy Stadium in memory of the 35th President of the United States who had been assassinated the year before . Football . The stadium ' s first tenants ( in 1926 ) were the Philadelphia Quakers of the first American Football League , whose Saturday afternoon home games were a popular mainstay of the Exposition . The Quakers won the league championship but the league folded after one year . The Frankford Yellow Jackets also played here intermittently until the team ' s demise in 1931 . Two years later the National Football League awarded another team to the city , the Philadelphia Eagles . The Eagles had a four - season stint as tenants of the stadium before moving to Shibe Park for the1940 season , although the team did play at Municipal in 1941 . The Eagles also used the stadium for practices in the 1970s and 1980s , even locating their first practice bubble there before moving it to the Veterans Stadium parking lot following the stadium ' s condemnation . The stadium became known chiefly as the " neutral " venue for a total of 42 annual Army – Navy Game s played there between 1936 to 1979 , and during the 1960s it served as Navy ' s home field when they played Notre Dame . A . F . “ Bud ” Dudley , a former Villanova University athletic - director , created the Liberty Bowl in Philadelphia in 1959 . The game was played at Municipal Stadium and was the only cold - weather bowl game of its time . It was plagued by poor attendance ; the 1963 game between Mississippi State and NC State drew less than 10 , 000 fans and absorbed a loss in excess of $ 40 , 000 . The Liberty Bowl ’ s best game was its first in 1959 , when 38 , 000 fans watched Penn State beat Alabama , 7 - 0 . Atlantic City convinced Dudley to move his game from Philadelphia to Atlantic City ' s Convention Hall for 1964 . 6 , 059 fans saw Utah rout West Virginia in the first Bowl Game played indoors . Dudley moved the game to Memphis in 1965 where it has been played since . The stadium hosted Philadelphia ' s City Title high school football championship game in 1939 and 1978 . St . Joe ' s Prep defeated Northeast , 27 to 6 , in 1939 . Frankford beat Wood , 27 to 7 , in heavy rain in 1978 . The stadium was home to the Philadelphia Bell of the World Football League in 1974 ; the team played at Franklin Field in 1975 . Other sports . On September 23 , 1926 , an announced crowd of 120 , 557 packed the then - new Stadium during a rainstorm to witness Gene Tunney capture the world heavyweight boxing title from Jack Dempsey . Undefeated Rocky Marciano knocked out Jersey Joe Walcott at the stadium in 1952 to win boxing ' s heavyweight championship . On June 26 , 1957 , a 150 lap NASCAR convertible race was held at the Stadium , which was won by Bob Welborn in a 1957 Chevrolet . JFK Stadium hosted Team America ' s soccer match against England on May 31 , 1976 as part of the 1976 U . S . A . Bicentennial Cup Tournament . In the game , England defeated Team America , 3 - 1 , in front of a small crowd of 16 , 239 . England and Italy had failed to qualify for the 1976 European Championship final tournament and so they joined Brazil and Team America , composed of international stars playing in the , in the four team competition . Because Team America was composed of international players and was not the American national team , the Football Association does not regard England ' s match against Team America as an official international match . JFK Stadium was one of fifteen United States stadia ( and along with Franklin Field one of two 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 . By the time the World Cup was held in 1994 , JFK Stadium had already been demolished for two years . Other events . The Philadelphia Flyers won their second Stanley Cup on May 27 , 1975 , and celebrated with a parade down Broad Street the next day that ended at the stadium . Five years later , the Philadelphia Phillies won their first World Series on October 21 of that year . The following day , the team paraded the exact route . In 1981 , The Rolling Stones announced their World Tour via a press conference at JFK . Through 1989 , the Broad Street Run course ended with a lap around the track at the stadium . Concerts . JFK Stadium occasionally hosted rock concerts , including the American portion of Live Aid on July 13 , 1985 . The Supremes played at the stadium on September 10 , 1965 . The Beatles played at the stadium on August 16 , 1966 . Judy Garland gave her last concert in America here in 1968 . The Pousette - Dart Band , Gary Wright , Peter Frampton and Yes played the " 1976 Bicentennial Concert " here on June 12 , 1976 . Led Zeppelin was scheduled to conclude their 1977 US Tour at the stadium , but the final 7 concerts of the tour were cancelled , due to the death of Robert Plant ' s 5 year old son Karac . The original Led Zeppelin never played in the US again , although the surviving members performed at Live Aid . Peter Frampton returned from a seven - month lay - off and played with Lynyrd Skynyrd and The J . Geils Band before 91 , 000 fans on June 11 , 1977 . On June 17 , 1978 , The Rolling Stones performed before a crowd of 100 , 000 fans . Opening acts included Bob Marley ' s former bandmate Peter Tosh and Foreigner . After The Stones finished their set , rowdy concert goers began throwing anything they could get , onto the stage that was shaped into The Rolling Stones " tongue " logo . Damage to the stage was estimated at a million dollars as smoke came pouring out marring an otherwise great day of vintage Rolling Stones . They also began their 6th U . S . tour on September 25 , 1981 . Blondie concluded their Tracks Across America Tour here , on August 21 , 1982 . They disbanded shortly thereafter , due to guitarist Chris Stein being diagnosed with a rare life - threating disease , pemphigus and " The Hunter " having sold very poorly . They did not perform live again for 15 years , until 1997 . Genesis was the headliner and used the open air stadium for one of their spectacular nighttime laser and fireworks shows . The show started at 3pm and also featured Elvis Costello and the Attractions , A Flock of Seagulls and Robert Hazard and the Heroes . The Who performed at the stadium on September 25 , 1982 , early into their ( then ) Farewell Tour which also supported their album " It ' s Hard " . Opening acts for the show were Santana and The Clash . A total of 91 , 451 were in attendance , one of the largest ticketed single - show , non - festival stadium concerts ever held in the U . S . , as documented by " Billboard " . Journey headlined a concert June 4 , 1983 . The show featured Bryan Adams , The Tubes , Sammy Hagar , and John Cougar ( as he was referred to at the time ) . This show provided the majority of the concert footage for an NFL Flims produced documentary called " Journey , Frontiers and Beyond " . Pink Floyd held a concert there on September 19 , 1987 , in front of a crowd in excess of 120 , 000 ( general admission was sold on the field ) , but the show was not sold out . The stadium played host to The Monsters of Rock Festival Tour , featuring Van Halen , Scorpions , Dokken , Metallica and Kingdom Come , on June 11 , 1988 . The stadium also played host to Amnesty International ' s Human Rights Now ! Benefit Concert on September 19 , 1988 . The show was headlined by Sting and Peter Gabriel and also featured Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band , Tracy Chapman , Youssou N ' Dour and Joan Baez . It was not known at the time , but the stadium ' s last event was The Grateful Dead ' s concert on July 7 , 1989 , with Bruce Hornsby & The Range as their opening act . Fans at the show recall concrete crumbling and bathrooms in poor shape . The Dead closed the show with " Knockin ' on Heaven ' s Door " ; it would be the last song played at the stadium . In 2010 , the concert recording was released on a CD / DVD combination , titled " Crimson White & Indigo " . Closing and demolition . Six days after the Grateful Dead ' s 1989 show , then - Mayor Wilson Goode condemned the crumbling JFK stadium . The stadium was demolished on September 23 , 1992 . The 1993 Philadelphia stop for the Lollapalooza music festival was held at the JFK Stadium site on July 18 , 1993 . The site was an open field as construction had not yet begun on the then still tentatively named " Spectrum II " ( Wells Fargo Center ) . This was the show at which Rage Against the Machine did not play , in protest of the Parents Music Resource Center . The Wells Fargo Center now stands on the site , which is part of the complex that also includes Lincoln Financial Field and Citizens Bank Park .