Franklin Field
An aerial view of Franklin Field in November 2008 | |
Location in the United States Location in Pennsylvania | |
| Address | S. 33rd and Spruce Streets |
|---|---|
| Location | University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Public transit | Penn Medicine Station SEPTA bus: 30, 40, 42, 49, LUCY |
| Owner | University of Pennsylvania |
| Capacity | 52,958 (2003–present)
Former capacity: List
|
| Surface | Field Natural grass (1895–1968) AstroTurf (1969–2003) Sprinturf (2004–present) Track Cinder (1895–1987) Rekortan (1988–present) |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1895 |
| Opened | April 20, 1895 |
| Construction cost | $100,000 (1895) ($3.78 million in 2024) |
| Architect | Frank Miles Day & Brother Charles Klauder |
| General contractor | Turner Construction (permanent structure in 1922) |
| Tenants | |
| Penn Quakers (NCAA) (1895–present) Philadelphia Eagles (NFL) (1958–1970) Philadelphia Bell (WFL) (1975) Philadelphia Atoms (NASL) (1976) Philadelphia Spinners (MLU) (2012–2014) Philadelphia Fury (NISA) (2019) | |
| Website | |
| upenn.edu/franklin-field | |
Franklin Field is a sports stadium in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the eastern edge of the University of Pennsylvania's campus. Named after Penn's founder, Benjamin Franklin, it is the home stadium for the Penn Relays, and the university's venue for football, track and field, and lacrosse. Franklin is also used by Penn students for recreation, intramural and club sports, including touch football and cricket; it is also the site of Penn's commencement exercises, weather permitting.
Franklin Field is the oldest still operating college football stadium in the nation. It was the first college stadium in the United States with a scoreboard and the second with an upper deck of seats. In 1922, it was the site of the first radio broadcast of a football game on WIP, as well as of the first television broadcast of a football game by Philco.
From 1958 through 1970, Franklin Field was the home of the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). It hosted the NFL Championship Game in December 1960, as the Eagles defeated the Green Bay Packers by four points.