EAGAN, Minn. — The Vikings have a new destination.
The Eagan City Council on Tuesday formally approved the team's plan to move its headquarters and construct a practice facility on 40 acres of a 200-acre site located off I-494 at the intersection of Dodd Road and Lone Oak Parkway.
Vikings Chief Operating Officer Kevin Warren and Eagan Mayor Mike Maguire discussed the collaboration process that occurred during environmental studies and presentation of plans for an integrated "live, work, play," development that they believe will welcome guests from throughout Minnesota, around the country and across the globe.
"We'll look back at [Tuesday night] as really the first day of a lasting legacy for us to come together," Warren said. "For our young kids coming along, they need to see people be able to work together.
"There are so many issues going on in society that are negative, but to be able to come together to say we care about you, we care about the young kids and we're going to develop a world-class environment here to make every person who is associated with the State of Minnesota very proud."
The plan for the facility calls for a 6,000-seat stadium that can be expanded to 10,000 to host multiple events such as high school football games of the week on Fridays, as well as NFL Play 60 initiatives and other sports like soccer and lacrosse.
The master plan for the entire site calls for integration of mixed-use facilities, including hotels, a convention center, corporate office, residential and retail spaces. The projected shifted from a vision to eventual reality when council members unanimously voted to change the land-use designation from "Major Office" to "Mixed Use."
All phases of the project have preliminary approvals, but the development will begin with the Vikings headquarters, which is expected to include the following:
• Five outdoor fields (four grass, one synthetic)
• Outdoor stadium with an anticipated capacity of 6,000 (expandable)
• Outdoor training areas, including a sand pit and inclined surfaces
• Indoor practice facility with a 100-yard synthetic surface field and full-clear height for kicking
• Team auditorium and player position meeting rooms
• Media center/press facilities
• Expanded locker room, weight room and equipment facilities
• Cardiovascular and specialized speed rooms
• Hydrotherapy room and post-workout recovery rooms
• New administrative office for front office staff
The team has a goal of completing Phase I in Spring 2018.
"Kevin referenced we're a progressive city, and we've just recently gone through a community-wide visioning where we've talked about what do people want to see in this community because we really developed 20-30 years ago," Maguire said. "One of the opportunities that this entire site brings is really an almost blank canvas to work out some of the recommendations of our Eagan Forward movement and look at bringing some more integrated uses and entertainment destinations."
The Vikings anticipate a ceremonial groundbreaking to occur in the coming weeks.
The approval occurred less than a week after the Vikings received ceremonial keys to U.S. Bank Stadium to celebrate the **substantial completion** of the team's home on game days.
Warren said the nearing completion of the state-of-the-art stadium and the beginning stages of the new facility are ways to execute the goals of the Wilf family's stewardship as owners of the Vikings.
"One thing the Wilf family has always stressed is we really are standard bearers to the Vikings franchise," Warren said. "So what we're trying to do is give so much back to this community. We're so grateful to the citizens of this great State of Minnesota, and to be in position to pull all of our constituents around Minnesota and focus the attention on Eagan and build something that's world class."
