Zygi Wilf enters his 17th season as Owner/Chairman of the Minnesota Vikings in 2021 and has been instrumental in transforming the organization since the Wilf family purchased the club in 2005. During that time, Wilf and his brother Mark, have focused on creating a world class organization that consistently competes for championships, provides the best fan experience in the NFL, has a positive impact on the community and grows the game of football.
Two of the biggest organizational achievements – opening U.S. Bank Stadium in 2016 and hosting Super Bowl LII in 2018 – have come under the Wilfs' leadership. As the largest construction project in state history, the new stadium employed nearly 8,000 construction workers and already has had a significant economic impact on the region. Wilf served as Honorary Co-Chair of the Minnesota Super Bowl Bid Committee and was successful in bringing Super Bowl LII to Minnesota in 2018. The facility is capable of hosting hundreds of community, national, and international events each year and has also been the home of the 2019 NCAA Final Four and multiple ESPN X Games.
Wilf and his brother Mark led the development of the Vikings new headquarters, Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center, which opened in March 2018 in Eagan, Minnesota. As the day-to-day and training camp home of the team, TCO Performance Center also serves as the centerpiece of Viking Lakes, a 200-acre, mixed-use development that will ultimately encompass three million square feet of corporate office, medical, retail, entertainment and multi-family housing. Over the past year, the growing campus has added three esports teams, the national headquarters of USA Curling, the northern office of the United States Tennis Association and the Omni Viking Lakes Hotel to go alongside the Vikings Museum and team store and Twin Cities Orthopedics' sports medicine center and medical office building.
Philanthropy has long been a key point of emphasis for the Wilfs and has been evident throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, during which the Wilf Family Foundations and the Vikings gave over $5 million in donations and commitments to support health care workers, the elderly, food banks social service organizations and Jewish causes in Minnesota, New York, New Jersey and Israel. Zygi and Mark have been actively engaged with the team's player-led Social Justice Committee. In June 2020, the Wilf Family and the Vikings announced a $5 million donation to social justice causes throughout the United States, building on their previous donations of $250,000 in 2018 and have again committed $250,000 in 2021. The players determined the three areas of focus with the expansion or launch of multiple initiatives in: 1) voter education and registration; 2) educational curriculum on racism and Black history; and 3) law enforcement and criminal justice reform.
Throughout their heavy involvement in business and civic endeavors, the Wilfs have been particularly dedicated to children's health issues. In February 2015, Zygi and Mark donated $5 million to the University of Minnesota to create the Wilf Family Center. Designed to be the intellectual center of children's health care in the Midwest, the center has an impact extending far beyond the region's borders. In 2017, under the Wilfs' leadership, the Vikings launched the new Vikings Foundation with the mission of advancing the well-being of youth through engaging health and education initiatives. In 2019, the Foundation unveiled Vikings Table, a food truck that provides free meals to underserved children in Minneapolis-St. Paul and surrounding communities. In its first six months of operation, Vikings Table served more than 4,500 meals before shifting its focus during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide an additional 13,000 meals for local non-profits to distribute to families in need.
The journey for Wilf from avid New York Giants fan sitting in the bleachers of Yankee Stadium in the 1960s to taking over the leadership of one of the NFL's proudest franchises has been marked by bold and well-founded business decisions, commitment to family and employees, and appreciation for NFL history. Wilf was recognized in 2013 with the Fritz Pollard Alliance's Tank Younger Award in honor of his commitment to hiring and promoting minority candidates on the football and business side of the Vikings franchise. In spring 2019 the Wilf Family Foundations made a $1 million donation to the Pro Football Hall of Fame to help the development of a Founders Exhibit that will shine a light on the many contributions of founders and owners of NFL franchises.
Along with his ownership of the Vikings, Wilf is a principal of Garden Homes, a nationwide leader in retail, commercial and private residential development. He was part-owner of the MLS's Nashville SC franchise and a founder of WISE (Wilf Innovative Sports & Entertainment) Ventures, an investment fund based in Manhattan focused on early and growth stage investment opportunities in sports entertainment and real estate. In 2021, Wilf became the lead investor and governor for Orlando City SC and the Orlando Pride.
Wilf, the son of Joseph and Elizabeth Wilf, emigrated with his parents from Europe to the United States in the early 1950s and settled in New Jersey. He attended nearby Fairleigh Dickinson University, earning a bachelor's degree in economics and later graduated from New York Law School in Manhattan. Wilf, and wife, Audrey, have four children.
