TCO Performance Center Opening

2018-06-01 · Kevin Warren, COO, Minnesota Vikings (Vikings)

The Vikings opened their new $108M headquarters and training facility in Eagan, Minnesota. Warren used this as another credential for facility development expertise.

What he said

We have been able to create an environment that will provide 'best in class' services to our world-class athletes at the TCO Performance Center, part of the new Minnesota Vikings world headquarters.

To think that the many years that we spent at Winter Park, the many memories that we have, to see Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center come to fruition, to see all of you standing here today – it makes this an incredibly special day.

We think what we've done here is create an environment where this will be a place for families to come together. This will probably be the trend in professional sports. We're really excited to be on the front end of this, to create a holistic health center and health-focused environment for our players, coaches, staff, fans and the community.

Our whole goal is excellence.

The fact-check

"We have been able to create an environment that will provide 'best in class' services to our world-class athletes." — Rhetoric: "Best in class" is subjective marketing language. Multiple NFL teams make similar claims about their facilities.
"We think what we've done here is create an environment where this will be a place for families to come together." — Rhetoric: Community framing for a private facility. Same "community asset" language used for stadium projects requiring public funding.
"Our whole goal is excellence." — Rhetoric: Empty motivational statement. "Excellence" is not defined or measurable.