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After years in Mankato, Vikings start new tradition in Eagan

The Minnesota Vikings spent 52 summers in Mankato, but now a new training camp tradition is underway in Eagan.

EAGAN, Minn. – It’s hard to leave behind 52 years of memories.

Until this week, the Minnesota Vikings had spent every summer since 1966 in Mankato, training at Minnesota State University in front of thousands of adoring fans from across the state.

Jason Stern often made that trek to Mankato as a young kid. It was a thrill for him to see world-class professional athletes in a small-town setting. One summer, in the early ‘80s, he remembers offensive tackle Tim Irwin casually signing autographs after practice.

“Number 76, coming out to the parking lot, sitting in the back of a truck,” Stern said. “I have really good memories with my family.”

Stern will need to create new memories now.

On Wednesday, the Vikings closed the chapter on Mankato and opened a glamorous 277,000-square-foot practice facility in suburban Eagan, as rookies reported to the first official day of training camp.

The TCO Performance Center, spanning 40 acres, includes multiple turf fields, a museum and even an entire stadium of space for children's activities. It's the type of private investment that could reverberate across Eagan and the east metro.

After years of taking 100-mile day trips to Mankato, Stern brought his wife and three young daughters to Eagan in search of a new tradition.

He likes what he's seen so far.

“This place is amazing. It’s awesome,” Stern said. “There’s a lot of things to miss about Mankato, but change is different. Change is good.”

The Vikings typically drew at least 60,000 fans to Mankato every summer during training camp, but that number could drastically increase with a more accessible location in the Twin Cities suburbs.

A Vikings spokesperson, for example, said 80,000 tickets have already been claimed for this year’s open practices.

The closer proximity was a big selling point for Beverly Askew, who brought her two children to the rookie practice on Wednesday.

“Years ago, I did go to Mankato, and yeah, this is a lot closer,” Askew said. “Easy to get here, easy to get in.”

Same goes for Armando Carroll, an 11-year-old Vikings fan who was tired of the long drive to training camp.

"It’s far. It’s a far trip. It’s fun there,” Carroll said. “But I like this better.”

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