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Vikings 2018 Regular Season Schedule
2018 SEASON SCHEDULE
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The season now begins here--
After decades of holding pre-season practice in Mankato, the Minnesota Vikings held their inaugural training camp at their new home in nearby Eagan- The TCO Performance Center.
This new football headquarters facility and campus comes just two years after the opening of U.S. Bank Stadium; and like the billion-dollar+ new stadium, is state-of-the-art in providing everything the athletes need to prepare for the upcoming season, as well as is very accessible for fans to attend and observe the workout sessions.
The 33-acre complex has four full outdoor practice fields and a 6,000 seat open air stadium (that will also host high school games and community events), an indoor practice facility, corporate headquarters, sports medicine center, team store, and the brand new Vikings Museum.
The remaining twenty acres of land are yet-to-be developed, but will progress over the next several years to include a hotel, parking garages, and a retail complex.
The 277,000 sq ft corporate building standing on the former Northwest Airlines HQ site, is more than twice as large as their former facility at Winter Park in Eden Prairie with the latest amenities and equipment, a 6,500 sq ft 95-locker room with fireplaces and big screen TV, the Vikings Entertainment Network studio, and a full auditorium for film study.
Practices were open to the public from July 26 to August 16, but required advance tickets that could be reserved at no cost online. A limit of four tickets over two days made it possible for more fans to attend, with a total of 90,000 tickets distributed (though surprisingly, it was recently reported that just over 2/3 were actually redeemed).
A drop-off spot was located across the street at nearby Trinity School, but the only other option was to prepay a $10 parking fee to park on the grounds (a dirt lot currently, no less, though it should be paved by next preseason). As the facility is fairly isolated in a commercial area of suburban Eagan, (unfortunately) no other real parking options are present.
A typical practice day had the players in a late morning walkthrough with some stretching exercises, then a full mid-afternoon session- exercising together, breaking out into position groups, and then full plays between the squads.
The first few days had the team working out without full pads, the one and only evening practice in the stadium (culminating with loudspeaker player intros and signed footballs being thrown into the stands) was held on August 4, and the Jacksonville Jaguars shared the practice field with the Vikings on August 15 and 16, ahead of their preseason duel that weekend.
For the fans, the location featured many sponsor booths, ample food stands (at reasonable prices- $1 for water, $3 soda), a local food truck on-site, (limited) player autograph opportunities, tours of the fitness center, and the stadium converted to a kid-friendly zone with several interactive activities.
Public wi-fi was unfortunately not available, but will hopefully come about next season, fans could pay additional for a reserved section with covered grandstand seating to watch the sessions, and admission to the 14,00 sq ft Vikings Museum was $20/$5 for 14 and under.
With the team coming just one game away from playing in a home Super Bowl last year, running back Dalvin Cook returning from a devastating ACL injury, and the addition of seasoned quarterback Kirk Cousins recruited away from the Washington Redskins, excitement was already high for the upcoming season- this sparkling facility brings even more reason to hope for that coveted Lombardi Trophy in 2019.
The TCO Performance Center in Eagan is another impressive feather in the team’s cap, with an “all-in”, determined to compete ownership that remembers the fans and is not afraid to invest in the tools to make a winning NFL franchise. Skol Vikings!
(click on any photo below to enlarge and see full image)
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