Hurricane Milton rips off roof of Tampa Bay Rays’ Tropicana Field, which was turned into shelter for first responders
Hurricane Milton?ripped the roof off Tropicana Field,?which was transformed into a camp for thousands of first responders as the?Category 3 storm ripped through Florida?Wednesday night.
The destruction of the Tampa Bay Rays ballpark in St. Petersburg could be seen from the outside and all that remained were the stadium’s light cables, bars and catwalks, with roof fabric dangling from above.
The storm had initially torn open a significant hole above the third base dugout before every other section around the domed roof fell apart, leaving roofing material covering various portions of the infield and stadium seating, according to social media video from inside the stadium.
Large sheets of the white roof fabric hung from the stadium’s catwalks as an American flag in center field thrashed due to Milton’s dangerous winds.
The domed structure was constructed with 6 acres of translucent, Teflon-coated fiberglass created to withstand 115-mph winds, according to WTSP.
St. Petersburg saw wind gusts peak at 101 mph Wednesday, the National Weather Service announced.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state established a 10,000-person base camp at the stadium to “support ongoing debris operations and post-landfall responders” in the days leading up to the storm.
Thousands of green and white cots had been set up in the outfield and foul territories to accommodate the workers and operations crews.
The guardsmen were relocated to Ocala earlier Wednesday, WFTS reported, citing a National Guard official.
The storm made landfall as a Category 3 near Siesta Key, south of the stadium, around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday with sustained winds of 120 mph.
The storm was downgraded to a Category 2 about 90 minutes after hitting the Sunshine State.
No injuries were reported inside the stadium, according to St. Petersburg officials.
The Rays have played at the much-maligned stadium since its inaugural season in 1998.
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Tropicana Field opened in 1990 as a way to lure a major league team to the area, having hosted an Arena Football team for six years.
The Tampa Bay Lightning played in the stadium for three years, when it was known as the Florida Suncoast Dome and nicknamed the “ThunderDome.”
In July, the Rays received final approval from the Pinellas County Commission to construct a new stadium to replace “The Trop,” with plans to open it in time for the 2028 season.
The new complex will be a part of the Historic Gas Plant District development.
The $1.3 billion stadium is expected to seat 30,000 people, with capacity expanding to up to 34,000 for Rays games.
Like its predecessor, the new ballpark will be roofed to deal with the extreme Florida weather but will have a tiered, pavilion-style roof.
Construction is set to begin in January 2025.
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The Rays’ contract with Tropicana Field is set to expire in 2027.
The stadium has been the last MLB stadium with a fixed roof following the Minnesota Twins’ move from the Metrodome to Target Field in 2010.
The St. Petersburg area has been pounded by the storm. Two sewer plants were taken offline and a citywide drinking water alert was issued at midnight because of a water main break.
Emergency crews and first responders were pulled off the roads and will remain out of service until conditions improve.
A construction crane working in the city at 400 Central Ave. collapsed as the storm lashed the area.
A large tree also toppled over, landing on a sidewalk outside the Moxy Hotel in downtown St. Petersburg, across the street from Tropicana Field, video from the city’s Facebook page showed.
