Other than the occasional Phillies weekend series, the Penn Relays have enjoyed virtually all of the local sports attention for their annual three days of competition that end on the final Saturday of April, but that won't be the case when the 123rd carnival begins next Thursday.
That's because the NFL draft is in town. The draft, usually held on the same three days as the Penn Relays, will take place in the Art Museum area with related activities up and down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and is expected to draw an estimated 200,000 fans.
The carnival is no slouch in attracting spectators; more than 103,000 people turned out at Franklin Field for the track and field carnival last year.