This year will be the Vikings' last training camp at Minnesota State Univ.-Mankato "after 52 years," according to Rochelle Olson of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. Next summer, the team will hold training camp at its new HQ in Eagan, Minn., which is expected to open next March. Vikings COO Kevin Warren said that logistically, it will be "much easier for the team to stay in Eagan than to set up camp in Mankato." Training camp in Mankato "gave the Vikings an annual presence in greater Minnesota for nearly the entire life of the franchise." But the Eagan campus will "give the team a lot more space, including more practice fields, than either Mankato or the current practice facility at Winter Park in Eden Prairie." At their new home, the team will have "cutting-edge training, physical therapy and video facilities" and the facility "can seat up to 10,000 people." Vikings Exec VP/Public Affairs & Stadium Development Lester Bagley said that Mankato "generally draws about 60,000 fans for the two weeks of camp." The team "expects more visitors to Eagan, but he didn’t say how many." Olson notes the new HQ will "occupy 40 acres of a nearly 200-acre parcel purchased" by Vikings Owners Mark and Zygi Wilf (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 7/19).
CHANGING TIMES: ESPN.com's Ben Goessling noted only 11 NFL teams, including the Vikings, will "leave home for training camp this season." When the Vikings announced plans for their new practice facility, it "seemed likely they would eventually move training camp on-site for the first time in their history." The current facility in Eden Prairie has "no space to accommodate fans for practices, and though the Vikings have spoken warmly of their accommodations at Minnesota State, it stood to reason they would eventually join the growing number of teams that keep training camp at home" (ESPN.com, 7/18). Warren said that "although the team is under contract" at Mankato through '18, there is an opt-out clause that "can be exercised Dec. 1." He said the timing of the announcement gives the university, the Mankato community and fans an "opportunity for celebration." Warren: "We’re a taking a stance to do that on our end. So now we're able to celebrate a 52-year relationship" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 7/19). The AP's Jon Krawczynski noted the Vikings will "give fans who attend the final training camp in Mankato a commemorative poster and also plan to hold a ceremony as part of the team's annual night scrimmage on Aug. 5 and a community celebration on Aug. 7." The Vikings will also "endow" a scholarship at Minnesota State (AP, 7/18).
