Hurricane Milton thrashed its way across Florida last night, with the storm prompting widespread flooding, tornado outbreaks and even toppling a construction crane onto a building. More than three million people were left without power and at least 10 have died as a result of the storm.
Along with the severe damage wrought by the Category 3 hurricane, one particular building caught everyone’s attention. Tropicana Field, the home of the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg, sustained significant damage to its roof. Videos and photos emerging on social media showed its roof panels being ripped to shreds by fierce winds.
In much of the footage, you can see the stadium’s interiors through the tattered roof, as well as scattered debris on the field:
No injuries were reported at the stadium and no first responders were on site when Milton made landfall. Earlier in the week, Gov. Ron DeSantis said the Tropicana Field would be used as a staging area for emergency management services, but that staging area had already been relocated before the storm hit.
“We are fortunate and grateful that no one was hurt by the damage to our ballpark last night,” The Rays said in a message posted to social media on Thursday afternoon. “Over the coming days and weeks, we expect to be able to assess the true condition of Tropicana Field. In the meantime, we are working with law enforcement to secure the building.”
“We ask for your patience at this time, and we encourage those who can to donate to organizations in our community that are assisting those directly impacted by these storms,” the team added.
It’s currently unclear what the damage could mean for the upcoming 2025 season returning in March. A new, $1.3 billion Rays ballpark is planned to be built on the Tropicana Field site, but it won’t be open until at least 2028.