Minnesota Vikings Headquarters
Mega-Tandem™ 3-in-1 System Serves as a Formidable Wall for New Vikings Headquarters
Background
In 2017, the Minnesota Vikings football franchise began the construction of their new headquarters and practice facility. The 40-acre complex that would become known as Twin City Orthopedic (TCO) Performance Center would eventually include a 6,000-seat outdoor stadium, five practice fields and a team auditorium. For a team renowned to have one of the strongest defenses in the NFL, it became clear that the organization would need the support of an equally strong retaining wall system to optimize the mammoth site for the new facility.
The Challenge
“This project is on a massive site that features an extensive amount of grade change,” said Don Armstrong, PE, sales engineer for Belgard® Commercial. “When you combine the building itself along with the stadium and the five practice fields, we knew it would require a number of significant retaining walls in order to provide stability for the proposed structures.”
The Solution
The project was initially planned with wetcast, precast modular wall units, but the design team discovered Belgard’s Mega- Tandem 3-in-1 system could provide the stability they needed with an added benefit — a much more attractive look. With the appearance of chiseled stone, MegaTandem is an innovative, versatile system that can be used to create attractive, curved or straight retaining and freestanding walls. The system also offers long-term durability with compressive strengths in excess of 8,500 PSI, making it an ideal system for the harsh freeze/thaw of Minnesota winters. “The landscape architect loved the look, and that’s really what helped sell the system,” said Armstrong. “The natural stone texture of the face, the color patterns—there’s nothing else like it on the market.”
The Result
Construction of the retaining wall systems for the TCO Performance Center site was completed in the spring of 2018. Ultimately, the 40-acre campus would also include administrative offices, a media center, a locker room, weight and equipment facilities, cardiovascular speed rooms, a hydrotherapy room, and post-workout recovery rooms. The Performance Center facility was the first phase in an overall 200-acred planned development expected to include an on-site orthopedics center, offices, retail, residential, hospitality and a conference center for the Vikings headquarters as a development anchor. Construction of the next phase included Twin City Orthopedics, an 88,000-squarefoot full service on-site orthopedics center. Introduced in 2013 and still a relatively new product in the Minnesota market, this was the first Mega-Tandem™ installation for the hardscape installation contractor. The Belgard® Commercial team provided technical support to both help with the design and facilitate a smooth installation.
