Vikings Training Camp: Moving from Mankato to Minneapolis

This will be the final Vikings Training Camp held in Mankato

MANKATO, Minn. — The Vikings did not finish last season where they hoped they would, but it’s time to turn over a new leaf as they get set for the 2017 season in the same place for one last time.

“Mankato is a very cool city and I think they really benefit from it being here and things like that,” said Ben Vaske, a Bencroft, Iowa native. “That is what is going to be sad not having it here anymore.”

“I told my parents ‘why don’t we just stop in Mankato on the way home and go to camp for one last time?’ I just like how close the players are to everything and how they interact with the fans,” said Jacob Skogstad, a Sioux Falls, South Dakota native. “It’s kind of fun just seeing all the guys outside the stadium environment.”

“It’s got a cool little hometown vibe,” added Vaske. “Especially just the family atmosphere that they have going here and things like that. It just works out really nice. I think that is what I’ll miss the most.”

“The shops and the food places are kind of close,”added Skogstad. “Today we went to lunch and Trae Waynes and Everson Griffen showed up so that was pretty cool. I don’t know if that will happen in the cities.”

“It is kind of sad,” said Vaske. “It will be a lot more traveling for me to go all the way up to Minneapolis then. It has been a lot of fun coming here over the last eight years. It will be a lot tougher. Here we could just make it up for the day, there it is a little bit more of a commitment. We might not be able to make it up every year but if it works out, definitely going to make it happen.”

“The training camp has made Mankato special,” added Janice and Conrad Muzik, Austin, Minnesota natives. “Lets face it. That has really made the city. They’re going to miss that.”