Tropicana Field, the Tampa Bay Rays’ home stadium, took a major hit from Hurricane Milton on Wednesday night into Thursday morning.
Tropicana Field’s roof was more or less completely shredded by the hurricane, as seen in various pictures and videos. The stadium, which is located in St. Petersburg, Fla. had originally been set up as a staging area for emergency personnel, but fortunately, that location was moved prior to the storm’s arrival.
Tropicana Field was set up for linemen & first responders & tonight roof was ripped off by Hurricane Milton pic.twitter.com/BZCvOKQBVA
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) October 10, 2024
Drone footage from Thursday morning showed that the vast majority of the roof was pretty much shredded, exposing the interior of the stadium to the elements.
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/WLL1uD8PHh
— Ryan Bass (@Ry_Bass) October 10, 2024
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
The Rays issued a statement Thursday, stating they were already working to secure the stadium and would be assessing the severity of the damage in the weeks to come.
To our Rays family, fans and the entire Tampa Bay community. 💙 pic.twitter.com/X9fwjZdcRX
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) October 10, 2024
The Tampa-St. Petersburg area dodged a worst-case scenario in terms of storm surge, as the center of Milton came in south of Tampa Bay, which prevented significant water rise throughout the area. However, the area was heavily affected by strong winds and remarkably heavy rain on the northern side of the system. The area was also impacted by significant water rise two weeks ago, when Hurricane Helene passed the area to the west.
A new stadium for the Rays has been a major topic for years, particularly since Tropicana Field is rather dated and can be plagued by some unusual issues. This won’t necessarily accelerate that process, but it will certainly force the topic to come up again. For now, though, the Rays will have to get the stadium repaired and cleaned up by the start of next season.
