Hurricane Milton Destroys Roof of Tropicana Field Stadium

Hurricane Milton Destroys Roof of Tropicana Field Stadium

The St. Petersburg stadium, home to M.L.B.’s Tampa Bay Rays, was being used to house emergency workers. Video showed parts of the fiberglass roof blowing in the wind.

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By Hank Sanders

Strong winds from Hurricane Milton tore through the roof of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., home to the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball, on Wednesday night, video showed.

Pieces of the translucent, Teflon-coated fiberglass roof were seen flapping in the wind. Within minutes, videos posted to social media showed the flaps growing in size until large sections of the roof were completely missing.

Earlier this week, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida announced Tropicana Field was being converted into a 10,000-person base camp “to support ongoing debris operations and post-landfall responders.”

Tropicana Field’s roof was built to withstand winds of up to 115 miles per hour, according to the Ray’s media guide. Wind speeds in St. Petersburg at 10:30 p.m. were 101 m.p.h., according to forecasters.

Bill Johnson first heard flapping noises as pieces of the roof started tearing off at about 10:45 p.m. Mr. Johnson, 57, was staying at a relative’s house and saw the damage from the window.

The tears worsened and within 30 minutes whole panels started blowing off the roof, he said in a telephone interview early Thursday morning.

“It just makes me sad seeing the stadium of the team I love ruined,” said Mr. Johnson, a St. Petersburg resident and a lifelong Rays fan.

In a social media post on Sunday, the Rays said that “Tropicana Field is NOT being used as a shelter,” and urged residents to remain updated about the storm through local officials.

Hurricane Milton made landfall near Sarasota on Wednesday. Large portions of Florida have seen significant flooding. Tornados have also wreaked havoc around the state, destroying homes and leading to some injuries and even death, according to at least one county official.

More on Hurricane Milton

• Florida on High Alert: Hurricane Milton threatened nearly the entire state as it blew in from the Gulf of Mexico, yet another case of a menacing storm putting many of Florida’s 23 million residents in danger.
• Some Inmates Will Not Evacuate: Manatee County, just south of Tampa, has ordered residents in three evacuation zones to get out. But the inmates and staff of the county jail will stay put.
• Can Electric Vehicles Catch Fire in Hurricanes?: E.V. batteries that are submerged in saltwater can catch fire after the floods subside, but experts say it’s a rarity.
• FEMA’s Severe Staffing Shortage: Fewer than 10% of the agency’s disaster workers are available to respond to Hurricane Milton and other calamities.