Hurricane Milton's powerful winds overnight Wednesday severely damaged the roof of the Tampa Bay Rays' home ballpark, Tropicana Field, which had been set for use by workers responding to the storm.
Overhead television and still images of the domed stadium in St. Petersburg showed massive swaths of its paneled roof were torn off by 100-plus mph winds.
The stadium's playing field and stands could be seen in that overheard footage, through where panels once were. It wasn't immediately clear if the stadium's interior suffered any major damage.
The high winds also toppled a construction crane at 400 Central Ave., in St. Petersburg, about three-quarters of a mile from Tropicana Field, officials said.
There were no injuries immediately reported from that area of downtown St. Petersburg, according to a city statement.
As recently as noon on Tuesday, the Florida Division of Emergency Management said it was "establishing a 10,000-person base camp at Tropicana Field to support ongoing debris operations and post-landfall responders."
The roof was designed to absorb winds of up to 110 mph, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said. And with forecasted gusts topping that standard, workers and equipment were removed from Tropicana Field, he added.
"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," DeSantis told reporters on Thursday. "There were no state assets that were in Tropicana Field."
The Rays finished 80-82 this past season, in their first campaign under .500 since 2017. Tampa Bay missed the playoffs for the first time since 2018.
Hurricane Milton's Impact on Florida
Hurricane Milton made landfall near Sarasota with a Category 3 status, Hurricane Milton weakened to a Category 1 storm as it crossed Florida, and was expected to weaken further as it moves out over the Atlantic Ocean. The storm, which reached Category 5 status earlier this week over the Gulf of Mexico, slammed into Florida’s west coast on Wednesday. Within a few hours, big chunks of the roof at the home of the Tampa Bay Rays started coming off.
Damage to the Trop
The roof at Tropicana Field, the home of the Tampa Bay Rays, sustained major damage because of high winds associated with Hurricane Milton, which made landfall Wednesday along Florida's Gulf Coast as a Category 3 storm.
Pictures and video on social media showed most of the fabric covering the domed roof torn off.
Capt. Garth Swingle of St. Petersburg Fire Rescue told ABC News that there has been contact with the people inside and that they are safe. It wasn't immediately known whether there was damage inside the stadium.
No injuries at the stadium were reported. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had said earlier in the week that there were plans for the ballpark to serve as a "temporary base camp" to support debris cleanup operations and temporarily house some first responders. The facility was set up to host 10,000 people, with cots arranged on the playing surface.
But those plans were changed as the storm neared, amid concerns that the roof simply would not survive Milton's wrath.
"They were relocated," 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."
The roof is made from ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), a polymer that is stronger than glass but significantly lighter. The metal frame appeared to be unscathed.
According to the Rays, the Trop was built to withstand winds of up to 115 mph. The roof is supported by 180 miles of cables connected by struts in what the team calls the "world's largest cable-supported domed roof."
The stadium opened in 1990 and initially cost $138 million. It is due to be replaced in time for the 2028 season with a $1.3 billion ballpark.
More Than Just Tropicana Field
Raymond James Stadium, the home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was quickly overcome with water, too. Unlike Tropicana Field, the stadium does not have a roof. The Buccaneers are on the road this week, and they left town early to avoid the hurricane.
The Aftermath
DeSantis said Thursday that Milton was a significant storm but not "the worst-case scenario," telling reporters that the worst storm surge appeared to be in Sarasota County, where it was 8 to 10 feet.
"We will better understand the extent of the damage as the day progresses," DeSantis said. "The storm was significant, but, thankfully, this was not the worst-case scenario."
Although the deadly storm surge feared for Tampa appears not to have materialized, the situation in the area was still a major emergency. The city itself saw flooding, and St. Petersburg recorded over 16 inches of rain, prompting the National Weather Service to warn of flash flooding there as well as other parts of western and central Florida.
About 90 minutes after making landfall, Milton was downgraded to a Category 2 storm. By late Wednesday, the hurricane had maximum sustained winds of about 105 mph and storm surge warnings were in effect for parts of Florida's Gulf and Atlantic coastlines.
Concerns over the storm and its effects on Florida led to the cancellation of Friday's preseason game in Orlando between the Magic and the New Orleans Pelicans, the NBA said. Orlando played at San Antonio on Wednesday night and was scheduled to return to central Florida on Thursday. A team spokesperson said the Magic now will stay an extra day in San Antonio before departing Friday.
The NFL's Jaguars modified their London travel plans Thursday because of the storm, pushing their departure from Jacksonville to later in the evening. The team also is moving Thursday practice by several hours.
Countless college and high school sporting events in Florida also have been canceled or postponed because of the storm, which forecasters said is likely to bring drenching rain across a wide swath of the state.
Tropicana Field's Future
It was not immediately clear when repairs to Tropicana Field would start, or how long that could take. The Rays' season is over; their season ended last month with the team missing the playoffs for the first time in five years.
The Rays have plans to build a new ballpark right next to Tropicana Field. Construction on the new ballpark has not yet started; the most recent timeline was to have the new stadium completed by the 2028 season.
