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Roof of Rays' Tropicana Field destroyed by Hurricane Milton

Hurricane Milton ripped right through St. Petersburg, leaving only shreds of the Tropicana Field roof behind.

By Thomas Erbe

Oct 8, 2021; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; A view of the field and the fans and the ballpark roof during the sixth inning between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Boston Red Sox in game two of the 2021 ALDS at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images
Oct 8, 2021; St. Petersburg, Florida, USA; A view of the field and the fans and the ballpark roof during the sixth inning between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Boston Red Sox in game two of the 2021 ALDS at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images / Kim Klement-Imagn Images
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Through the beginning of this week, the entire state of Florida was preparing to brace for the impact of another robust storm system heading its way. Hurricane Milton made its way through the Gulf of Mexico and reached the west coast of Florida on Wednesday evening. The home of the Tampa Bay Rays, Tropicana Field, was right in its path.

While preparing for what could only be predicted to be a catastrophe, it was determined that the Trop would be transformed into a base camp for first responders and emergency personnel. Thousands of cots were set up in the outfield ready to keep local heroes safe and rested during the impending process of recovery.

Tropicana Field was opened as a closed structure in 1990 and became home to the Rays when they debuted as an expansion team in 1998. The roof was reported to withstand gusts of wind of up to 115 miles per hour. Hurricane Milton proved to be much more powerful than that because the Trop's roof is no longer there.

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Hurricane Milton ripped the roof right off of Tropicana Field

Fortunately, there are no reports of any injuries on-site at Tropicana Field. But the facility can no longer be a base camp sanctuary for first responders, or anyone else. The strong surge of Hurricane Milton ripped the roof right off.

As this just happened and the storm's effects are still being heavily felt and assessed, there is no official word on the roof's fixability at this time. The priority for the area now has to be cleaning up the destruction left behind and ensuring everyone is safe. Then, it can be determined what to do about the Trop.

The Rays have been in discussion with city officials about constructing a new stadium for the franchise in the last several years. There was a proposal submitted to build a $1.2 billion facility near the site of Tropicana Field in 2023, but it was rejected by the St. Petersburg City Council.

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