PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- One event the city does not want the NFL Draft to overshadow is the Penn Relays, now in its 123rd year.
Both events are at the same time.
"To put it in scale, there are more athletes that compete in the Penn Relays in three days than compete in the summer Olympics," Roger Reina, Senior Associate Athletic Director at the University of Pennsylvania, told Action News on Monday.
An estimated 300,000 people will watch world class athletes in track and field at the relays and football stars at the draft.
"Fans can could come to both events; they are literally a 15 minute walk from the Art Museum to the entrance of the Relay Carnival Village in Franklin Field," Reina said.
"We have the capacity to do big events and multiple events at the same time. Our police are awesome. Our police are topnotch when it comes to dealing with crowds," Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said.
Street closures are being done in phases.
The third of four phases goes into effect Monday at 7 p.m. All lanes of the Ben Franklin Parkway will be closed from 20th Street to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Kelly Drive will also be shut down at Fairmount and Pennsylvania avenues.
Adding the Penn Relays into the mix, travelers could see heavy traffic on I-76 between University and South Street exits.
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