Super Bowl LII Patriots vs Eagles: New England to practice at Vikings facilities this week

Following their send-off rally later today, the New England Patriots will fly west to Minnesota to start on-location preparations for their upcoming game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Now we know, where the two teams will hold their practices leading up to the Super Bowl: While the Eagles will conduct their sessions at the University of Minnesota, the Patriots will practice at the Minnesota Vikings' facilities.

This is a slight change of action for New England when compared to years past, as ESPN Boston's Mike Reiss notes: The team typically practices outdoors even when an upcoming game is played in a domed arena like the Super Bowl's U.S. Bank Stadium. Preparations for the big game, however, will take place at the Vikings' Winter Park indoor practice fields southwest of Minneapolis.

One of the aspects of practicing there, as Reiss points out, is the low-hanging ceiling fans inside and whether or not they would impact kickoff and punting work. The Vikings, for example, do most of their kicking preparations inside their stadium as opposed to the practice facilities. It will be interesting to see how New England approaches this and whether or not the team's kickoff work will be affected.

But knowing the team, it already has a plan in place.