The Vikings Practice Facility and New Training Camp Home | Photos
For 52 years, the Vikings conducted training camp at Minnesota State University, located in Mankato, Minnesota, 80 miles southwest of downtown Minneapolis. The past March, the club opened up a brand new state-of-the-art practice facility and team headquarters, that also houses Vikings training camp operations. As a result, 2017 marked Minnesota’s final camp in Mankato.
The spectacular Twin Cities Orthopedics (TCO) Performance Center is found in the Twin Cities suburb of Eagan, Minnesota, eight miles east of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and 12 miles southeast of the team’s home venue, downtown Minneapolis’ US Bank Stadium.
Recently, iFolloSports.com visited the new digs. Below are a series of original photos and observations.
The main stadium at TCO is hosting family-friendly activities during camp, including an area where attendees can attempt field goals. The 6,000-seat field (can be expanded to 10,000) also hosted a night practice, over the weekend, while serving as the future site of Twin Cities high school football games and other community based events.
The stadium’s very modern scoreboard.
The Vikings practice facility features four outdoor practice fields.
An exterior shot of the 277,000-square-foot facility, including the indoor fieldhouse and its 98-foot high roof (also pictured upper right).
A tribute to the famous “SKOL” chant, as one enters camp.
The brand new Vikings Museum, team store and an onsite Twin Cites Orthopedics clinic.
It is sad for a smaller city like Mankato to lose the Vikings summer presence and all the economic benefits that come with it. However, this new location is so much more modern and so vastly easier for the majority of Vikings fans and media members to attend.
In addition, due to its Twin Cities location, Eagan and its surrounding area possess many more dining and entertainment options, including the Mall of America, which is only seven miles away.
