The Vikings yesterday "announced a 20-year partnership" with Twin Cities Orthopedics for the naming rights to the team's new training facility in Eagan scheduled to open in March '18, according to Chris Tomasson of the ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS. The agreement "calls for the facility to be known as the Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center, and it will be alongside TCO Stadium." The announcement "was part of the elaborate festivities surrounding the Vikings’ breaking ground" on the facility. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell "took part in the groundbreaking ceremony" along with Vikings COO Kevin Warren, GM Rick Spielman, coach Mike Zimmer, QB Teddy Bridgewater and other dignitaries. The team will have "40 acres for team offices, the 6,000-seat TCO Stadium, four other outdoor practice fields, an indoor practice facility, a team auditorium, meeting rooms, an expanded locker room and weight room, and some high-tech training and recovery rooms." Another 160 acres at the site will include "retail outlets, offices, hotels, apartments and trails for biking." One of the occupants will be TCO, which will "expand its relationship with the Vikings." Grass practice fields will "be completed by the end of the growing season next year." Vikings co-Owners Zygi and Mark Wilf "were unable to make it" to yesterday’s ceremony due to a family matter (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 8/3). In Minneapolis, Rochelle Olson notes unlike the "housewarming events at U.S. Bank Stadium, the mood was all celebration." Spielman said that the facility was "designed in consultation with Zimmer to meet player needs" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 8/3).
COMMUNITY EFFORT: Goodell said that the NFL has encouraged a "leaguewide movement" to make "more investments in infrastructure, which ultimately turns into a delicate partnership between the community and team." He said, “One thing I’m proud about with the NFL is we’ve done it successfully -- we’re one of the only leagues to contribute to these projects. You see a real, true public partnership and that’s what we have here in Minnesota. ... You’re going to see it in Los Angeles. I think you’re going to see it in a lot of markets now because it’s working" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 8/3).
TIME TO SHINE: The AP's Jon Krawczynski noted U.S. Bank Stadium's "first official event" is today, an Int'l Champions Cup match between Chelsea and AC Milan. The "cramped concourses and scarce bathrooms of the Metrodome are a distant memory, replaced by the open-feel, amenity-loaded stadium that features a giant glass wall looking toward the downtown Minneapolis skyline." The seats are the "closest to the field in the NFL and a one-of-a-kind retractable section can be moved to allow baseball to be played indoors." More than 200,000 people "visited the stadium for an open house that was held last weekend" (AP, 7/31).
