Vikings Become Latest Team To Express Interest In Hosting Future NFL Draft

A top Vikings official yesterday said that the team "has applied" to host the NFL Draft in '22 or '23, according to Chris Tomasson of the ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS. The Vikings "want to stage the three-day event" at U.S. Bank Stadium and its Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center in Eagan, Minn. Vikings Exec VP/Public Affairs & Stadium Development Lester Bagley said that the Eagan facility is "on schedule to open" next March. The application to host the Draft "was submitted in October." The application is for '22 "at the earliest," as U.S. Bank Stadium is the site of Super Bowl LII in '18. The additional time also "allows for the completion" of the Vikings’ new HQ. Bagley said that the steel work is "almost done and about 100 construction workers are on site each day." Bagley added that he "has been told by an NFL official that the league is still working through how it determines draft sites" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 5/9).