Rays ask Milton for “patience” as they assess stadium damage

The Tampa Bay Rays said it could take weeks to fully assess how much damage was done to Tropicana Field, whose roof was torn to pieces by the force of Hurricane Milton as the deadly storm swept across much of Florida.

The team said no one was injured when the St. Petersburg ballpark was hit by the storm Wednesday night. A handful of “essential personnel” were at Tropicana Field when the roof panels were blown apart and much of the debris fell onto the field and the seats below.

“We expect to be able to assess the true condition of Tropicana Field in the coming days and weeks,” the Rays said Thursday. “In the meantime, we are working with law enforcement to secure the building. We ask for your patience at this time and encourage those who are able to donate to organizations in our community that are helping those directly impacted by these storms.”

Milton was the second hurricane to hit Florida's Gulf Coast in two weeks, following Hurricane Helene, which flooded roads and homes on the same side of the state and killed at least 230 people in the south.

The Rays are not scheduled to play at the ballpark again until March 27, when they are scheduled to host the Colorado Rockies to open the 2025 season.

Because as bad as the damage was, the situation at Tropicana Field could have been worse. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said earlier this week that there were plans to use the ballpark as a “temporary base camp” to support debris removal efforts and temporarily house some first responders.

However, these plans were changed as the storm approached, as it was feared that the roof simply would not survive Milton's wrath.

“They have been relocated,” DeSantis said Thursday morning. “Tropicana Field is a routine site for this sort of thing. The roof on it… I believe it's rated for 110 mph and so the forecast changes, but when it became clear that there was something of that magnitude that was going to happen.” To be around, They moved them out of Tropicana. There were no government assets located within Tropicana Field.

The team previously said that Tropicana Field features the world's largest cable-supported dome roof, whose panels are made of “translucent, Teflon-coated fiberglass” and are supported by 180 miles of cables connected by struts.

According to the Rays, the roof was designed to withstand winds of up to 110 mph. The stadium opened in 1990 at an initial cost of $138 million and is scheduled to be replaced by a $1.3 billion baseball stadium in time for the 2028 season.

The wrath of Hurricane Milton was felt elsewhere across the sports landscape.

The Orlando Magic plan to spend Thursday in San Antonio and return home Friday, one day behind their original schedule for the week, after playing the Spurs in a preseason game on Wednesday night.

The Magic have scheduled a practice in San Antonio for Thursday and have tentative plans to fly back to Orlando on Friday. A preseason game that was scheduled to take place Friday in Orlando between the Magic and New Orleans Pelicans has been canceled and will not be rescheduled.

“There are always things bigger than the game of basketball and we have to keep that in mind,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “Knowing that there are families, homes and situations that are going through a difficult time right now, we need to be aware and aware of that.”

The Magic-Pelicans game is the second NBA preseason matchup to be influenced by Milton. A game between the Heat and Atlanta Hawks scheduled for Thursday in Miami was postponed until Oct. 16 because of storm concerns. Also canceled earlier this week: a rescheduled NHL preseason game Friday in Tampa between the Lightning and Nashville Predators — one that was originally scheduled to take place last month and was postponed because of Hurricane Helene.

Two college football games are scheduled to be played Saturday in cities that experienced Milton's worst winds and rainfall, although some logistical issues were still being discussed Thursday following the storm.

In Tampa, South Florida, host Memphis is preparing for a game that was postponed from Friday to Saturday. And in Orlando, UCF is preparing to host Cincinnati.

Kickoff for both games is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET.