Tropicana Field roof ripped off by Hurricane Milton

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Tropicana Discipline was not in a position to keep away from the wrath of Hurricane Milton. 

Video posted on Wednesday night time confirmed parts of the stadium’s roof blowing within the wind. Drone footage later confirmed that a lot of the stadium’s roof panels had been certainly torn off in the course of the storm, which introduced wind gusts of 101 mph to town.

Tropicana Discipline is house to the Tampa Bay Rays, and was set to function the house base for hundreds of emergency responders who arrange camp forward of Hurricane Milton. 

The town says no person was injured when the roof ripped off the stadium. Officers are asking folks to keep away from the world. 

A spokesperson for Tropicana Discipline confirmed in a press release to FOX 13 Information that “no first responders had been being staged on the Trop and the important personnel that had been there are all accounted for and secure.”

FOX 13 additionally confirmed that 13 “important” group personnel had been inside Tropicana Discipline when the roof got here off the constructing, and that because of the Rays having reservations over the construction’s skill to resist Hurricane Milton, the group didn’t enable the sphere for use to shelter folks in the course of the storm.

Hurricane Milton made landfall on Siesta Key Wednesday night time as a Class 3 hurricane. Entry to Pinellas County is at the moment restricted and thousands and thousands of individuals throughout the Tampa Bay space are with out energy.

The dome of Tropicana Discipline, which has been torn open as a result of Hurricane Milton in St. Petersburg, Florida, on October 10, 2024. (Picture by BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP by way of Getty Photos)

Historical past of Tropicana Discipline

Tropicana Discipline opened in 1990 and was initially constructed to lure a Main League Baseball group to town. Nevertheless it was really the Tampa Bay Lightning who first performed there till an enviornment may very well be in-built Tampa.

St. Petersburg was awarded an MLB enlargement group in 1995 and the Tampa Bay Satan Rays started enjoying on the dome in 1998.

For the final a number of years, the Rays and town of St. Pete have been negotiating for a brand new stadium, finally deciding on a location proper subsequent to Tropicana Discipline. Building on the brand new ballpark has not but began; the latest timeline was to have the brand new stadium accomplished by the 2028 season.

It was not instantly clear when repairs to Tropicana Discipline would begin, or how lengthy that might take. The group put out a press release Thursday saying their focus could be on securing the constructing first, after which assessing the construction’s situation “within the coming days and weeks.”

The Rays’ season is over; their season ended final month with the group lacking the playoffs for the primary time in 5 years. 

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