"Inside the Vikings" videoThe hosting, recruiting and wine-and-dining done by the Vikings this offseason is not limited to just NFL free agents and draft prospects. Last week, the Vikings Sales and Marketing staff, in conjunction with the coaching staff, hosted a group of prospective corporate clients at Winter Park to give them an inside look at the organization.
“Inside the Vikings” is the name of the event and around 20 prospective corporate partners enjoyed an evening inside the Vikings headquarters, featuring appearances by Vikings Vice President of Player Personnel Rick Spielman and Head Coach Brad Childress, among others.
“This event is a way for our potential corporate clients to see our whole operation and get a little look behind the curtain to the Vikings and really be ‘a player for a day,’” Vikings Vice President of Sales and Marketing Steve LaCroix said after the event.
LaCroix and Spielman each spoke to the prospective clients as they finished their dinners in the Winter Park cafeteria, and Spielman answered various questions about the draft process and roster decisions.
Following the meal and question-answer session with Spielman, the prospective clients were given a tour of the facility, including a look into the team’s indoor practice facility (field house), the weight rooms, locker room, equipment room, team meeting rooms and player lounge.
After the tour, Coach Childress, defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, special teams coordinator Paul Ferraro and running backs coach Eric Bieniemy met with the group in the team meeting room and broke down film of recently-signed free agents as well as last year’s games. The potential clients also had a chance to ask questions of the coaches and gain a better understanding for a typical day during the season, the time each coach and the players must put in to be successful and the issues that are discussed among the team during meetings.
“Coming to see the day-to-day things that the players and coaches go through at the practice facility provides good insight to see how hard they work and what they have to do to get prepared for game day,” said Nick Halpin, one of the prospective corporate partners at the event. “It’s definitely a different look than what you get from just watching it on TV.
“This event definitely puts the human element into it. You hear these coaches being scrutinized on the radio and you listen to their press conferences after the game. Listening to them talk really lets you know that they’re just guys trying to do their job. But they’re also great football minds and they have real character traits that add value in their own way to this team.”
The Vikings Sales and Marketing staff, under LaCroix’s guidance, hosted a series of similar events during the offseason last year and the feedback they received was overwhelmingly positive.
“It’s a great perk for our prospective clients to see the coaches in their element and get a grasp for the amount of planning and detail that goes into a game plan,” LaCroix said. “We are grateful to the Vikings coaching staff for working with us to execute this event. It’s definitely something that’s neat for our prospective clients and people associated with the Vikings to be a part of.”