The Vikings quest to move team HQ to Eagan, Minn., "drew closer to reality this week as the team submitted extensive design plans to City Hall to take over" the former HQ of Northwest Airlines, according to a front-page piece by Rochelle Olson of the Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE. The move to Eagan "would give the team roots," because unlike the team's new downtown stadium, the suburban land in Eagan would belong to Vikings co-Owners Mark and Zygi Wilf. Since the Vikings announced buying the land last August, team and city planners have "worked behind the scenes" on plans that "detail seven discrete parcels for development." The team’s piece -- the first project -- "sits at the north-central part of the site." The planning commission is "expected to review" plans next month and "issue an advisory opinion." The City Council in May "is scheduled to vote on the proposal" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 3/18). In St. Paul, Marino Eccher in a front-page piece notes the Vikings "laid out plans that would put new football offices, facilities and practice fields in operation" by '18, with developments including a hotel, office park, retail and apartment buildings "to follow over the next decade." The first phase of the new site’s development calls for a 165,000-square-foot HQ building to "consolidate staffers, currently working in three locations, under one roof; a 91,000-square-foot indoor practice facility with artificial turf; a grass outdoor practice area that can be configured to fit up to four football fields; and a 5,000- to 6,000-seat outdoor stadium (expandable to 10,000 seats) that the team sees as a hub for high school and college sporting events" (ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS, 3/18).
