Tropicana Field roof shredded by Hurricane Milton
Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays, had its roof shredded by high winds from Hurricane Milton as it hit the Tampa Bay area Wednesday night.
Cameras showed the domed stadium's roof almost entirely destroyed in the early hours of the storm.
#TropicanaField roof is coming off @RaysTheRoofTB pic.twitter.com/GNGpNcXiuV
— Bill Carl Johnson (@BC_Johnson) October 10, 2024
OMG. We all had a collected gasp when we saw this from our reporter. The fabric on the roof of Tropicana Field is shredded. #StPete #Milton pic.twitter.com/36UKLO9cK6
— Jason Adams (@JasonAdamsWFTS) October 10, 2024
An interior shot provided by a drone shows the magnitude of the destruction.
Here’s some drone video we shot giving you a look at the extensive damage to the roof and the inside of Tropicana Field, the home of @RaysBaseball. pic.twitter.com/RJBIcTTbLJ
— Ryan Bass (@Ry_Bass) October 10, 2024
Tropicana Field, located in St. Petersburg, was being used as a staging area for electrical workers and members of the Florida National Guard before the storm, according to Amanda Boettcher of ABC Action News Tampa Bay. The field was lined with cots earlier in the week.
Everyone inside the stadium at the time was confirmed safe, and no injuries were reported, a St. Pete Fire Rescue official told Boettcher. Guardsmen who were in the ballpark had been moved to a different location earlier in the day.
"We are fortunate and grateful that no one was hurt by the damage to our ballpark last night," the Rays said in a statement on Thursday.
"Over the coming days and weeks, we expect to be able to assess the true condition of Tropicana Field."
The Trop's roof is made of six acres of translucent, Teflon-coated fiberglass and is supported by cables, according to Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times. It was designed to withstand wind gusts of up to 115 mph. St. Petersburg's been hit by peak gusts of 91 mph, according to News Channel 8 chief meteorologist Jeff Berardelli.
Tropicana Field opened in 1990 and has been the Rays' home since their inaugural season in 1998. It also hosted the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning in the early 1990s and a variety of other events, including college football bowl games.
The Rays are planning to build a new ballpark in St. Petersburg, with a target opening date of 2028.
Milton, a Category 3 hurricane, made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida, around 8:30 p.m. ET. The storm had maximum sustained winds of around 110 mph as of 10 p.m. while leaving nearly 1.6 million customers in the state without power, per NBC News.