Tropicana Field, the stadium of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team, was “ripped off” by Hurricane Milton on Wednesday night, with large portions of the roof completely destroyed by the wind. The stadium had reportedly been intended to serve as a base for thousands of emergency responders and U.S. National Guard troops; however, the emergency base of operations was relocated due to concerns with the stadium.
According to Fox 13, city officials confirmed that no injuries were caused by the destruction of Tropicana Field’s roof. In a statement to Fox 13, a Tropicana Field spokesperson explained, “No first responders were being staged at the Trop and the essential personnel that were there are all accounted for and safe.”
The Tropicana Field spokesperson noted that while 13 “essential” personnel were located inside the stadium when the roof was torn apart during Hurricane Milton on Wednesday night, the organization did not allow the baseball field to be used as a shelter due to concerns regarding the stadium’s ability to withstand the severity of the massive storm.
The update from Tropicana Field comes after reports suggested that thousands of National Guard troops and first responders were being housed at the stadium as the roof was being torn off.
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Raws Alerts shared a video of multiple portions of the stadium roof’s panels being torn off in the wind alongside the caption, “Currently, as Hurricane Milton makes landfall as a Category 3 storm, now downgraded to Category 2, Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg has suffered significant damage, with its roof torn off by the storm’s powerful winds.”
Raws Alerts claimed that the stadium was being used for “staging operations to provide immediate rescue and relief efforts to surrounding communities for the hurricane’s aftermath.”
Another video shared by media personality Ryan Bass shows drone footage of the devastation inflicted by Hurricane Milton on Tropicana Field’s roof. In the video, most of the roof panels can be seen missing or destroyed.
In response to reports that the stadium had been housing first responders and National Guard troops, Jeremy Redfern, press secretary for Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.), tweeted, “This staging area was already relocated because of this reason. It’s no longer at Tropicana Field.”
Fox News reported that Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida, as a Category 3 storm overnight, causing powerful winds and significant flooding throughout the region. As of Thursday morning, the outlet reported that the hurricane had been reduced to a Category 1 storm.
