Vikings Exec VP/Public Affairs & Stadium Development Lester Bagley on Friday said the team is "currently evaluating the long-term viability of Winter Park as a practice facility" and team HQ, according to Rochelle Olson of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. He added that the Vikings "have outgrown" their Eden Prairie, Minn., HQ, which opened 34 years ago. Bagley "declined to discuss the team’s options, but it’s well-known that the organization ... now runs its business out of three separate office buildings." The team’s offices and practice facilities "lag by NFL standards," and with their $1B stadium set to open in '16, Vikings owners and execs "can consider the future" of their HQ. The coaches’ offices "are a warren of squat, claustrophobic cubbies with little space for much more than a desk." The Winter Park facility "also has a dearth of meeting places" for execs and players. The team "has no auditorium for meetings in a league where theater seating and high-tech displays are now the norm," and the two outdoor and one indoor practice fields at Winter Park "leave the Vikings at least a half a field short of the standard." It is "unclear what sort of timeline the team has set for a decision." But one developer said that the Vikings "have spoken to him about land" in Chanhassen, Minn., "less than 10 minutes from Winter Park." Bagley would not say whether the team "might seek a subsidy" for a new HQ. Olson noted that a subsidy "would seem highly unlikely, given the pricey, high-profile project in downtown Minneapolis" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 5/31).
