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Hurricane Milton has caused major damage to Tropicana Field, home of Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays, with the storm blowing large parts of the stadium’s roof away.
The storm made landfall in Florida on Wednesday night, with winds of over 100 miles an hour causing serious damage in the Tampa Bay area. The city of St. Petersburg, where Tropicana Field is located, recorded over 16 inches of rain.
Earlier this week, ahead of Hurricane Milton’s arrival, the Rays announced that they were working with state and local emergency management partners at Tropicana Field to aid efforts for debris removal.
Tropicana Field has not been designated as a shelter, with the Rays urging residents to follow local authorities for all storm updates. The team has not yet issued a statement regarding the damage suffered at Tropicana Field.
In a statement to ABC News, Captain Garth Swingle of St. Petersburg Fire Rescue, said that there had been contact with people inside Tropicana Field and they were safe. It is not clear whether the interior of the stadium has suffered damage.
The Rays did not qualify for the 2024 postseason and the team’s most recent game at Tropicana Field was against the Toronto Blue Jays on September 22.
Tropicana Field opened in 1990 and its roof, which is made from ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), was built to withstand winds of up to 115 miles an hour, according to the Rays. The team is planning on building a new state-of-the-art ballpark in St. Petersburg.
Elsewhere in Florida, the Orlando Magic NBA team announced yesterday (Wednesday) that its preseason game against the New Orleans Pelicans tomorrow has been cancelled due to Hurricane Milton. The game will not be rescheduled.
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