The home of MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays suffered major damage as Hurricane Milton tore through Florida on Wednesday night.
Most of the fabric covering Tropicana Field’s dome was ripped off during the Category 3 storm, and photos and video from social media showed the inside of the stadium clearly visible through the gaps.
Now that the sun is up, here’s a 360-degree view of the damage Hurricane Milton caused to Tropicana Field’s roof and the inside of the ballpark. Absolutely heartbreaking 💔 pic.twitter.com/ZCtPHv6rE9
— Ryan Bass (@Ry_Bass) October 10, 2024
According to WFTS-TV in Tampa, there were no reported injuries at the site. The stadium was being used as a shelter for first responders in the buildup to the storm. On Tuesday, rows of cots sat atop the Rays’ artificial turf for use by emergency personnel but the workers were moved on Wednesday before the storm hit.
“They were relocated,” Florida governor Ron DeSantis said at a Thursday morning news conference. “Tropicana Field is a routine staging area for these things. The roof on that ... I think it’s rated for 110 mph and so the forecast changes, but as it became clear that there was going to be something of that magnitude that was going to be within the distance, they redeployed them out of Tropicana. There were no state assets that were inside Tropicana Field.”
Tropicana Field’s roof was designed to withstand wind of up to 115 mph, according to the Rays. The maximum sustained wind speed as Milton made landfall about 35 miles south of the stadium was 120 mph. The stadium opened in 1990 and initially cost $138m. It is due to be replaced in time for the 2028 season with a $1.3bn ballpark. The Rays did not make the MLB playoffs and are not due to play at home until March 2025.
Milton caused several sports events in Florida to be rescheduled. An NBA preseason game in Orlando between the Magic and the New Orleans Pelicans, scheduled for Friday, was cancelled even before Milton hit the state.
“There’s always things bigger than the game of basketball and that’s what we have to keep our perspective on,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “Knowing that there’s families and homes and situations that are going through a tough time right now, we need to be mindful of that and conscious of it.”
The NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers are playing in New Orleans this weekend. Their next home game is scheduled for Monday 21 October.
