Like the Cowboys, Vikings' ambitious plan for new team facility includes a hotel

Get ready for retail shops, conference centers, a hotel, and residential areas at the Vikings' new facility

The NFL really is a copycat league. After the Cowboys decided that they were going to include a 16-story hotel, an event center, restaurants and retail stores, and office space (among other features) at their new team facility in Frisco, Texas, the Vikings are doing the same near Minneapolis.

Like the Cowboys, the Vikings have some big plans for their new team facility. 

As ESPN's Ben Goessling reported, the Vikings are planning to have a hotel, residential areas, retail shops, and conference space on nearly 200 acres of land. The Vikings' practice stadium, which can seat more than 6,000 spectators, will also serve as a host to high school games -- from football to lacrosse.

Vikings chief operating officer Kevin Warren told ESPN that members of the Vikings' staff are interested in living in the soon-to-be constructed residential areas. 

"You can get all the services you need, but they have been bifurcated and broken up, so you have players going to different locations," Warren told ESPN. "The more we can create this environment, when we start talking about live, work and play, I know I would be ecstatic if we had players that actually lived here on the premises. If we build a world-class environment here, when the season's over, you might as well stay here. If you're going to get your best training, you're going to have the best facility in the world, you have rehabilitative services, there's no reason to go to other parts of the country. You might as well stay here."

Though the Vikings' practice facility will open next spring, development of their grand plans will transpire over the next 10-15 years. Need an idea of what their development, which is situated 16 miles away from downtown Minneapolis, will look like?

Here's a virtual tour of the Cowboys' facility, which will cost more than the construction of AT&T Stadium, via the Dallas Morning News:

The Vikings' new team facility will complete their team makeover. Their new stadium, U.S. Bank Stadium, opened this past season. So far, it's been impressive -- aside from the fact that it's a gigantic bird-killing device. Their upgrades have been rewarded by the NFL. Minnesota is set to host this coming season's Super Bowl, and the team has made it known that it wants to host the draft, either in 2022 or 2023.

It really wouldn't be shocking to see more teams follow the path laid out by the Cowboys and now the Vikings. Though the total price tag for the Cowboys' facility is hefty -- $1.5 billion -- the team partnered with the city and a school district so that it won't foot the entire bill. According to the Dallas Morning News, the city will pay $60 million and the school district will shell out $30 million. ESPN's story did not provide any financial details behind the Vikings' plan, but it makes sense from the team's perspective to follow a similar model, especially after reading that nugget about high schools sharing the facility.

Anyway, hopefully the Vikings' new facility includes a McDonald's that will actually get Mike Zimmer's order right.