Video Surfaces of Rays’ Tropicana Field Roof Destroyed By Winds from Hurricane Milton
Andrew Peters
Douglas P. DeFelice/Getty Images
As Hurricane Milton tears through parts of Florida this week, the home of the Tampa Bay Rays has been hit.
Videos captured on Wednesday and Thursday showed the roof of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg being torn apart by powerful winds, along with the aftermath.
Jomboy Media @JomboyMediaThe Tropicana Field roof has come off during Hurricane Milton
The ballpark was being used as shelter for first responders pic.twitter.com/tBcrESzYdu
Bill Carl Johnson @BC_Johnson#TropicanaField roof is coming off @RaysTheRoofTB pic.twitter.com/GNGpNcXiuV
Bleacher Report @BleacherReportDrone footage captured Tampa Bay Rays’ collapsed roof due to Hurricane Milton 😳
(via sohailbholaphoto/IG) pic.twitter.com/7lKeBrREYv
Ryan Bass @Ry_BassNow 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
Milton made landfall on Wednesday evening in Tampa Bay and has already seen wind speeds up to 110 mph. The Category 2 hurricane has brought 10-14 inches of rain and is only supposed to continue throughout the night.
In the days leading up to the powerful hurricane, Tropicana Field was set up as a shelter for thousands of first responders and the National Guard. Unfortunately, the damage to the roof will likely make the shelter unusable.
Tampa Bay Rays @RaysBaseballTo our Rays family, fans and the entire Tampa Bay community. 💙 pic.twitter.com/X9fwjZdcRX
Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reported that city officials said there have been no injuries as a result of Wednesday night’s damage.
Front Office Sports @FOSTropicana Field, home to the Tampa Bay Rays, is housing thousands of first responders and National Guard ahead of Hurricane Milton.https://t.co/z8QJQhTpa9 pic.twitter.com/0f6ASFjqAH
The stadium, which opened in 1990, was designed with a slanted roof in hopes of better protecting it from hurricane damage. Though it has survived many powerful hurricanes over the years, the intense winds from Milton proved to be too much for the Trop.
While the safety of those being lodged at Tropicana Field will be the first priority, rebuilding the roof will likely take months of effort. Fortunately, that won’t impact the Rays soon as their season is already over, but the stadium hosts a number of other events that could be affected.