Well, we knew this was inevitable; Mankato feeling the pinch

The cowturds jumped around with their camps countless times...it's called MARKETING"! Geez Mankato had a fucking 45 year run...I think the turds held TC in Austin for 7 years and have been at at least 10 different locales. Stretching from Oregon to Wisconsin to San Antone to Cali and even Michigan. They've been in Cali for the last 8 years...again they are getting a new generation of fans. Those in Mank. will just have to move on and except teams are in it for the $. We'll see if it's good for the players as well as the teams fans...hopefully it is. BTW how the fuck do you think Dallas became Americas team? They are followed by more fans then any other team and are the 2nd highest valued TEAM IN THE WORLD! I also have nearly no real like or dislike of them. They haven't contended since the Vikings basically gave them the biggest bounty of draft picks and thus 3 SB wins in 4 years.

I was thinking that Mankato should do some sort of "fantasy camp" kinda thingy. Offer fans the opportunity to "live" what their former heroes lived through. I knew a guy that did the Yankees experience, for an obscene amount of money, but he met and hung out with Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Joe Pepitone, Bucky Dent, etc. Said it was the best extravagant expense he ever shelled out. 

Offer up an old school Vikings training camp experience for maybe $2500 for a few days and cycle through 8 or 10 different groups. Sleeping in the dorms, eating in the cafeterias, going through drills, scrimmaging, film study, etc. Mankato State could partner up with local businesses....I'm sure participants would be bringing some family along for a few days and they would in turn need hotel accomadations and also need to eat.

They could bring in some B and C lister Vikings ( just spit-balling, but guys like Hovan, Chris Walsh, Moe Williams, etc) and offer some sort of coaching internship to former NFL and College players who are interested in pursuing a coaching career. And, of course, Mankato State players and coaches, too. 

As a matter of fact, this could be a league-wide initiative. I'm sure most teams have ties with former training camp sites and the NFL could use this as a vehicle for grooming coaches, refs, training professionals, nutrition experts, sports medicine professionals, etc. Call it the NFL Training Camp Experience and market the hell out of it. There, I just created another multi-million dollar generating venue for Roger and his boys. You're Welcome, but I do want a % of the revenue!

LOL....I didn't say you can't have an opinion, I said I disagreed with your opinion. I said IMHO I believe.

Progress and change come all the time. Like it or not, this is a big money business, and in order to attract top free agents, having the new facility with top notch amenity's will sure help. From what I heard, the old facility at Eden Prairie were in tough shape.

Mankato had a nice long run. The new one is farther from me, but I still support it, because it is better for my TEAM. The TEAM is the most important thing, and getting a better chance at top notch FA's is what is est for all fans.

Sorry if my opinion offended. 

@"JoDakota" said: LOL....I didn't say you can't have an opinion, I said I disagreed with your opinion. I said IMHO I believe.

Progress and change come all the time. Like it or not, this is a big money business, and in order to attract top free agents, having the new facility with top notch amenity's will sure help. From what I heard, the old facility at Eden Prairie were in tough shape.

Mankato had a nice long run. The new one is farther from me, but I still support it, because it is better for my TEAM. The TEAM is the most important thing, and getting a better chance at top notch FA's is what is est for all fans.

Sorry if my opinion offended. 

Only people who have a right to complain IMHO are the business owners and workers in Mankato.

yeah,  so in your "honest opinion" fans dont have the right to disagree with ownership unless we are financially hardshipped... and you said this on a fan message board.  this would be a damn boring place if we all toed the line and sat around drinking purple kool aid.

of course its business, and of course change comes,  but do people have to like it?  its part of life,  we all have shit we dont appreciate,  we grumble about what we cant control,  and we fight for or against what we can.  I am getting steam rolled up here by excell energy and its bull shit machine,  some say its business, some say its progress,  I say its going to have a negative affect on my enjoyment of my life and property,  I dont have a financial loss (yet)  but do I still have the right to piss and moan about these fucking wind towers that will be constructed in my area?

as far as supporting the team,  are you going on record and saying that you are 100% always behind what the ownership thinks is best for the team?  I think the new facilities will certainly help with FA,  i dont think holding training camp there will really do much for drawing free agents.  Hell the wilfs are developers,  they could have build a hotel in kato to house the team in a more posh environment and still held camp there,  but that wouldnt have made them the recipients of all the coin.  now they will financially control almost every aspect of the fan experience at camp,  thats what this is about,  dollar bills,   not making the team better.

and your opinion doesnt offend me,  i just think its a bit off.

So we disagree. I said sorry if my opinion offended. I think the new facility is a big help in landing FA. We bring a FA in here that has lived in the south his whole life, we better have some facilities that make up for the weather they will have to live in. The new stadium is a draw to FA. So is the new headquarters. Why wouldn't the vikings use their own facilities? It only makes sense. They have great new practice facilities, top notch weight and training facilities and no moving all the equipment needed for training camp.

The only reason for leaving it there would be for nostalgic fans, which, here it is again, IMHO doesn't come close to in comparison for all the positives. I don't think it's even close. They gave plenty of notice this was going to happen. 

@"JoDakota" said: So we disagree. I said sorry if my opinion offended. I think the new facility is a big help in landing FA. We bring a FA in here that has lived in the south his whole life, we better have some facilities that make up for the weather they will have to live in. The new stadium is a draw to FA. So is the new headquarters. Why wouldn't the vikings use their own facilities? It only makes sense. They have great new practice facilities, top notch weight and training facilities and no moving all the equipment needed for training camp.

The only reason for leaving it there would be for nostalgic fans, which, here it is again, IMHO doesn't come close to in comparison for all the positives. I don't think it's even close. They gave plenty of notice this was going to happen. 

nobody said they were pulling the rug out,  its just a change that I dont think does anything for me as a fan as there are other teams that dont hold camp at their own facilities and they dont seem to have issues attracting FAs.  yes winter park was not working any more,  I have no issue with the new facility for their head quarters,  just dont think it does much for me as a fan and I question how much moving camp there actually does for attracting FAs.

If you were a free agent, would you rather have camp at a state of the art facility with modern amenity's or travel 65 miles to a college campus and live in a dorm for a couple weeks. I can see a potential FA would consider all possibilities.  It doesn't do anything for you as a fan......but the upside is mostly positives from the TEAMS perspective, and it probably opens camp up to a lot of Cities based fans that would not go to Mankato, which is another win for the TEAM.

I put TEAM above all else, and this new facility is a winner all around for the TEAM. It does stink for the local businesses in Mankato, but they have had ample time to prepare. I feel bad this positive change for the TEAM doesn't fit you personally, but TEAM FIRST is my motto. 

Here's another community upside to the new facility. The vikes are serving their community.....pretty cool.

EAGAN, Minn. — The Vikings new headquarters, Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center, is completing its first week of hosting Verizon Vikings Training Camp.
More football is on the way.
On Tuesday, the Vikings and Minnesota State High School League announced plans for TCO Stadium to host a total of five football games on three separate weekends in 2018.
The events will include a regular-season game on Sept. 28 between Farmington and Eagan (home team) and a regular-season game on Oct. 12 between Lakeville North and Prior Lake (home team). TCO Performance Center also will serve as an MSHSL Playoff host site for a total of three state quarterfinal games on Nov. 9 and 10.
The scheduling of the games fulfills a commitment to the community that was front-and-center during the design and construction of TCO Performance Center and TCO Stadium.
“The opportunity to share our new facility with the community and with the high school sports teams was always an emphasis of the design of TCO Performance Center from the beginning,” Minnesota Vikings Chief Operating Officer Kevin Warren said. “The chance to connect with fans, parents and players at the high school level is an important part of our ongoing youth football events, and we will proudly share our field with Minnesota high school teams.”
It also is another way to support high school football, which Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman said is a “unifying and long-standing tradition across our country.”
“We are honored to host high school football games at our new TCO Performance Center facility.” Spielman said. “The lessons and values learned playing high school football extend well beyond the playing field. The game of football creates bonds and relationships that last a lifetime.”
Scheduled games

Friday, Sept. 28 – Farmington vs. Eagan (home) at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Oct. 12 – Lakeville North vs. Prior Lake (home) at 7:30 p.m.
Friday-Saturday, Nov. 9-10 – MSHSL Quarterfinal Playoffs

@"JoDakota" said: If you were a free agent, would you rather have camp at a state of the art facility with modern amenity's or travel 65 miles to a college campus and live in a dorm for a couple weeks. I can see a potential FA would consider all possibilities.  It doesn't do anything for you as a fan......but the upside is mostly positives from the TEAMS perspective, and it probably opens camp up to a lot of Cities based fans that would not go to Mankato, which is another win for the TEAM.

I put TEAM above all else, and this new facility is a winner all around for the TEAM. It does stink for the local businesses in Mankato, but they have had ample time to prepare. I feel bad this positive change for the TEAM doesn't fit you personally, but TEAM FIRST is my motto. 

looks like about a third of the teams in the league hold their camps at alternate locations such as colleges and hotels.  I doubt free agents really give a shit about where they are spending the first couple weeks of camp season.  the players grumbled about camp,  but i doubt we honestly lost any free agents because camp was held in mankato... or that we will be signing any because they dont have to spend 2 weeks in mankato.  again,  no issues with the new facility,  but for me as a fan it does nothing in terms of hosting camp there so why should I be happy about camp being there.  (rhetorical,  dont bother answering)

Make a list as if you were the TEAM. Minneapolis/New Facility on one side and Mankato/Old Facility on the other. There are far more positives on the Minneapolis side, with just a few on Mankato side. It affects you negatively....I get that. Do you go every year to training camp? For the TEAM, it was a no brainer to make the move. 45 years at the same place. Time for a new tradition.

So hang up your rotary dial phone and get off your dial-up internet and go to Eagan and experience the new and improved TC experience. 

@"JoDakota" said: Make a list as if you were the TEAM. Minneapolis/New Facility on one side and Mankato/Old Facility on the other. There are far more positives on the Minneapolis side, with just a few on Mankato side.  I am not the team,   I am a fan,  everything I have stated so far on this matter is from a fans perspective and position and havent claimed otherwise...you were the one that said only financially affected people should have an opinion on the matter and I said that was a retarded thing to say on a fan site.   that is all there really is to discuss on the matter,  everything you bring up from the business point of view is really moot.

It affects you negatively....I get that. Do you go every year to training camp? I have been 3 of the last 4 years and 4 of the last 6 or 7 years.  It was a good time.

For the TEAM, it was a no brainer to make the move. 45 years at the same place. Time for a new tradition.  or time for another revenue stream to be more to the point... what is funny about this statement is that when Zygi bought the team he was going to try and restore some old football traditions (this is how the skol line came to be)  he told me personally that he wanted to see large scale tailgating for the Minnesota fans that wanted it (we met him and Mark at the Chiefs game at Arrowhead in 07 and got to visit)  he was all about tradition and things for the fan.  the team is valued crazy higher than what he paid and what he has invested.  this need to squeeze every single nickle from the fans is getting old... if he wants to start some new traditions,  how about doing something for the fans that doesnt isnt dictated by ROI.

So hang up your rotary dial phone and get off your dial-up internet and go to Eagan and experience the new and improved TC experience.  witty fucker I see... 

Well, the vikings are looking for what is the best for the TEAM, they can't look to please every fan, unfortunately. I'm sure they weighed the pron and cons, including profit (they are businessmen afterall), and decided that investing in a brand new facility seemed like the best move. And if you have a brand new facility, why wouldn't they want as much activity there as possible.

Sorry about being "witty", it came from your "Get off my Lawn" quote above.

I sure have some good memories of Mankato... last time there was probably 1993 lol.  That was when you could literally bump into players anywhere, before, during, after practice.  I got to "know" some players as I tried to get there as much as I could.  One story I always laugh at, and that "enlightened" me a bit was a running back inviting me to pizza after practice.  I sat with the entire RB crew, the linemen at a table across the way.  After a while, one of the linemen was yelling at our star RB... yo, you gettin' red tonight?  He kept saying what??  Yo, you gettin' red tonight??  I didn't know what the hell he meant.  Finally, this hot chick groupie came over, wearing a red mini skirt, started whispering in his ear for a couple minutes.  She left with her friend. 

I then had to leave 10 minutes later.  I get out to my car which was parked next to his and see a note stuck to his windshield wiper.  I couldn't help myself... look around, no one looking, so I grab and read it.  Hey baby, here's my number...  

High school kid growing up fast...  

Another fond memory was working a 12 hour night shift at my summer job right after high school, then immediately driving to Mankato for practice.  It was supposed to be a big scrimmage.  The rain came and it was called off.  Damn, I was so disappointed.  They moved practice inside and closed it off to the public.  I walked all around the gym area to the back wondering if I could see anything when I came across some glass windows and door to the hallway between their locker room and the gym.  Door was locked.  I got kinda embarrassed as players were looking at me wondering why the hell I was there standing in the rain... then all of a sudden the door opens and it was Brad Johnson.  In his southern gentleman accent, asked me if I wanted to come in out of the rain.  Dumbfounded, I said sure.  I proceeded to be the only fan inside watching practice and got a tour of the locker room. 

That kind of stuff, will be missed...