Sign Up<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cThe story of America just doesn\u2019t unfold in chambers and conventions,\u201d Historic Philadelphia President Amy Needle said at the event. \u201cIt unfolds in places like this.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Needle added that the \u201cshared civic experience through sports\u201d created by Franklin Field is \u201cquintessentially American and Philadelphian.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Speakers discussed several notable moments in the stadium\u2019s 131-year history, including the Penn Relay Carnival, hosted by Franklin Field every year since its opening in 1895.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou want to have traditions,\u201d Penn Relays Assistant Director of Communications Eric Rauman told the DP. \u201cYou want to have that culture. That\u2019s what\u2019s going to bring Penn students to Penn \u2026 they want to be a part of that tradition, which makes Penn so unique to some of the newer schools, perhaps because our history is so long.\u201d<\/p>\n
Penn Relays Executive Director Scott Ward highlighted that Usain Bolt participated in the Penn Relays on Franklin Field\u2019s track in 2010.<\/p>\n
\u201cFranklin Field certainly doesn\u2019t get the crowds it did back in the day, but every April during Penn Relays, it comes back to life,\u201d Ward said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He added that at its peak, the stadium \u201cfrequently had over 70,000 fans in attendance for its football games.\u201d<\/p>\n
The event highlighted Franklin Field\u2019s significance not only in Philadelphia\u2019s history but also in Penn\u2019s.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no better partner for today\u2019s \u2018Firstival\u2019 than the University of Pennsylvania, whose legacy is deeply connected to this place and to the history we\u2019re celebrating,\u201d Needle said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ward also echoed a similar sentiment about the stadium\u2019s legacy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I think about a stadium built over 130 years ago that\u2019s still in use today, I think about all the staff over the years dedicating their blood, sweat, and tears to keep it running,\u201d he said. \u201cI think about the commitment this University had to its historic preservation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He added, \u201cas Franklin Field evolved, so did sports, and those who appreciated this evolution of sport the most have been the fans.\u201d<\/p>\n
Philadelphia\u2019s \u201c52 Weeks of Firsts\u201d program spans the entirety of 2026, commemorating a unique \u201cfirst\u201d that took place in the city each week. The city commissioned artists to create a sculpture for each week of the campaign, featuring designs unique to each site.<\/p>\n
According to Ward, the artist who designed the Franklin Field sculpture took \u201cinspiration from the energy of competition, the tradition of Penn Relays, and the iconic architectural structure of Franklin Field.\u201d<\/p>\n
The events are part of a citywide effort to celebrate<\/a> the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence this year. Alongside the city\u2019s programming, Penn Libraries has scheduled a series of performances, conferences, and exhibitions to celebrate the nation\u2019s anniversary throughout the year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Penn Athletics and Historic Philadelphia, Inc. honored Franklin Field, the nation\u2019s first stadium, with a sculpture unveiling on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":367050,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[442,498,499,500,501,156,111,139,69],"class_list":{"0":"post-367049","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-artsdesign","12":"tag-design","13":"tag-entertainment","14":"tag-new-zealand","15":"tag-newzealand","16":"tag-nz"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=367049"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367049\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/367050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=367049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=367049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=367049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}