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Hurricane Milton tore the roof off Tropicana Field, the home of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team, videos show.
The stadium is located in St. Petersburg, Florida. The hurricane ripped the roof apart on the evening of October 9. Multiple videos showing the significant damage to the stadium’s roof circulated on X.
Color commentator Dave Moore shared another video on X and wrote, “The view from our window as we ride out the storm. The roof of Tropicana Field is destroyed by the winds of #HurricaneMilton. Praying for Tampa Bay and all areas affected. Stay safe, everyone.”
At 8:30 p.m. Eastern time on October 9, the National Hurricane Center wrote on X, “Doppler radar data indicates that the eye of #Hurricane #Milton has made landfall near Siesta Key in Sarasota County on the west coast of Florida. Max sustained winds at landfall are estimated at 120 mph.”
Hurricane Milton ‘Shredded’ the Fabric on the Roof of Tropicana Field, Reports Say
Tampa meteorologist Jason Adams also shared a video and wrote, “OMG. We all had a collected gasp when we saw this from our reporter. The fabric on the roof of Tropicana Field is shredded. #StPete #Milton.”
A person responded on X, “Fabric roofs don’t exactly inspire confidence..” But another person wrote, “It’s withstood hurricanes for thirty years. Guess that was all it had in it.”
Football insider Brett McMurphy wrote on X, “Tropicana Field was set up for linemen & first responders & tonight roof was ripped off by Hurricane Milton.”
“Originally named the Florida Suncoast Dome, Tropicana Field’s 1.1 million square feet include unique design features and fan amenities found nowhere else in Major League Baseball,” Major League Baseball’s website says.
“The venue opened to the public on March 3, 1990, at a cost of $138 million. It became the ThunderDome in 1993 with the arrival of the area’s National Hockey League expansion franchise, the Tampa Bay Lightning. It was renamed Tropicana Field on Oct 4, 1996, in accordance with a naming rights agreement between the Rays and Bradenton’s Tropicana Dole Beverages North America,” according to the website.
“Though originally built for baseball, there have been 14 other sports and competitive events held there. These include hockey, basketball, football, sprint car racing, gymnastics, soccer, tennis, weight lifting, table tennis, karate, motorcycle racing, equestrian events, track and figure skating,” MLB.com wrote. “In addition to the 2008 World Series, the facility was also home to the 1999 NCAA Basketball Final Four featuring Duke, Ohio State, Michigan State, and eventual-champion Connecticut.”
Tropicana Field Was Going to Operate as a ‘Base Camp’ for First Responders
According to USA Today, before the roof was torn off, Tropicana Field was “repurposed” for emergency responders.
The ballpark was “packed with rows of empty green cots” as the state of Florida prepared for the hurricane. According to USA Today, the baseball field was supposed to be a “base camp” for responders handling the hurricane’s aftermath.
According to a news release from the state of Florida, the government was “establishing a 10,000-person base camp at Tropicana Field to support ongoing debris operations and post-landfall responders.”
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