Penn Relays | Usual Penn Relays layout deconstructed | Interactive map

In addition to new runners on the track, this year the Penn Relays will have a different feel.

The construction on the north side of Franklin Field, as well as the closure of the South Street Bridge, will bring a number of changes to this year's Penn Relays.

Among them are the relocation of the main athlete and spectator entrances, the shifting of the vendor village to the outer south concourse of Franklin Field and the reconfiguring of the throwing event areas, according to Penn Relays director Dave Johnson.

For the athletes, the clerking and paddock area, normally located on 33rd Street at the corner of the stadium between Weightman Hall and the Dunning Coaches' Center, will now be moved to the south side of Franklin Field at 33rd Street and spill into the space under the scoreboard. Though athletes will now enter from the south side, the finish line for most of the events will remain the same as in previous years.

The main spectator entrance will now be on the south side of Franklin Field. The entrance to the stadium on the north side will be limited to north side ticket holders only. Patrons can still buy tickets at both the northwest and southwest ticket windows.

The popular vendor village will be located under the arches of Franklin Field along South Street this year.

As of last week, Penn was still negotiating with the City about closing one or more lanes of South Street between 33rd and 31st streets to allow the vendor village to expand, according to Facilities director Dave Bryan. However, Bryan felt confident that the Relays would be granted the necessary permits.

Johnson says that shifting the action to the south side of Franklin Field is actually a reversion to the original configuration of the area.

"There were row houses where the tennis courts are," Johnson said. "The real front side [of Franklin Field] was on South Street. It was the main side until the Palestra developed in 1926."

Johnson said the South Street Bridge closure may actually affect the Relays more so than the Franklin Field construction. Many teams and spectators previously using it to gain access to West Philadelphia will now need to find alternate routes.

The South Street Bridge construction will also affect the Relays' throwing events. Previously held near the bases of the blue bridge, the discus, shot put and hammer will take place in the area around Warren and Rhodes Fields this year. In prior years, the javelin was the only event held there.

"Now they're all in same place," Johnson said. "For throwing fans that's terrific."

According to Johnson, literature detailing the changes was sent to the coaches in their registration packets. He said his office would also send a reminder e-mail in the days leading up to the Relays.

Johnson said the Relays didn't intend to hire any more event staff to deal with the changes, saying that the signage and predistributed literature should be sufficient to direct athletes and patrons.

"Getting the coach who knows we don't change much from year to year to realize that there are real and significant changes is part of the hard part," Johnson said.

Ron Lopresti, a Penn Relays announcer, president of the Pennsylvania Track and Field Association and a former track coach himself, said he hasn't heard of any coaches panicking about the changes, but said people will "have no idea really until they arrive about how much is going to be different."

The Franklin Field construction is part of an ongoing improvement project that began in December and is slated to be wrapped up in the spring or summer of 2010. The area under the north side of the stadium will be enclosed and turned into a fitness center. The Lott Tennis Courts will be transformed into a park.

But at least for this weekend, it's the Relays that will be most affected.

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