TCO Performance Center

The Minnesota Vikings opened their spectacular new stadium last season. One would think that would be the end of the new team facilities for a while. One would be wrong. As soon as the doors to the new stadium were opening last summer the Vikings were breaking ground on the construction of a new training facility in Eagan. The team had outgrown their Winter Park facilities long ago. The Vikings were even forced into holding their team meetings in a curtained off corner of their indoor field. None of it was ideal. The Eagan facilities will be one of the best in the NFL when they open next March. Not long after ground was broken the Vikings had a partner in Twin Cities Orthopedics and a name for their new facilities. TCO Performance Center. Here's a comparison between old and new.

Winter Park  TCO Performance Center 1981 Year Opened 2018 14 Months Construction Time 18 months 138,000 square feet Total Square Feet 277,002 square feet 50,000 square feet Office Space 184,372 square feet 88,000 square feet Field House Area 92,630 square feet 73 feet Field House Height 98 feet 14.5 acres Campus Area 40 acres 2 Outdoor Grass Fields 4 0 Outdoor Synthetic Fields 1 Yes(added in 1991) Indoor Practice Facility Yes  No Outdoor Stadium Yes(6,501 capacity) 90 lockers Locker Room 95 lockers 4,350 square feet 6,560 square feet 5,800 square feet Weight Room 6,145 square feet No Cardio Mezzanine Yes(1,508 square feet) 1,806 square feet Training Room 6,754 square feet 8 Treatment/Training Tables 16 468 square feet Hydrotherapy Center 1,919 square feet 1 Treadmill Pool 1 1 Cold Plunge Pool 1 1 Hot Plunge Pool 1 2 Extremity Whirlpool Tubs 4 703 square feet Draft Room 1,352 square feet 20-25 capacity 41 capacity 108 capacity (temp) Auditorium 174 capacity Yes  Virtual Reality Simulator Yes(370 square feet) 400 square feet VEN Studio 6,201 square feet 0 Radio Interview Rooms 2 Yes (175 square feet) ESPN/NFL Cam Room Yes(278 square feet) 2,425 square feet Kitchen/Dining 6,752 square feet 15 miles Distance from USBS 16 miles 13 miles Distance to MSP 6 miles

Vikings trainer Eric Sugarman and his staff will be thrilled with their new facility. The increased size of the training area is startling. The training room alone more than triples in size. That's more than enough room for the Vikings' weekly Donut Club. Twice as many training tables, more tubs. Hopefully the extra tables won't be necessary. They will even have a Cardio Mezzanine!

One of the more ridiculous aspects of the Vikings current situation is the team meeting room. When Mike Zimmer was hired he wanted the entire team to to be able to gather in one room. Auditorium style. Winter Park only had smaller rooms for individual position group meetings. The only option for Zimmer and his team was to curtain off a corner of the endzone of the indoor practice facility. It wasn't ideal. And it looked silly.

The opening of the TCO Performance Center early next year has raised speculation that this summer's training camp will be the last one held on the campus of Minnesota State-Mankato. The Vikings are one of the few teams that still gets away for their hot summer workouts. While most of the rest of the NFL have been spending training camps in the comforts of their own home or something cozy near it the Vikings have been stuffing big men into tiny dorm rooms. Mankato has been their summer home away from home for over 50 years. It's a tradition that may be coming to an end. It only takes a quick scan of the above numbers to see a facility that's made to hold a training camp. At least the football part of it. They still need to find/build something that has about 150 beds.

New stadium, new practice facility, now the Vikings need one of those shiny new Lombardi Trophies.