The Tampa Bay Rays say it will take “weeks” to assess damage from Hurricane Milton at Tropicana Field as the storm’s recovery begins

The Tampa Bay Rays’ Tropicana Field was severely damaged Wednesday night — and it may not be repaired anytime soon.

Amid the devastating winds of Hurricane Milton, which hit Florida’s Gulf Coast and killed at least 13 people, the Trop’s roof was blown to pieces.

Now the organization has said it could take weeks to fully assess the damage to what the team calls the world’s largest cable-supported dome roof.

According to the team, the roof was designed to withstand wind speeds of up to 180 km/h.

“We expect to be able to assess the true condition of Tropicana Field in the coming days and weeks,” the Rays said Thursday.

The Tampa Bay Rays’ home stadium was completely destroyed by Hurricane Milton

Entire panels were blown off the ceiling of the MLB stadium by the monster storm

“In the meantime, we are working with law enforcement to secure the building.” We ask for your patience during this time and encourage those who are able to donate to organizations in our community that are helping those who are directly affected by these storms.”

The team says the roof panels are made of “clear, Teflon-coated fiberglass” supported by 180 miles of cables connected by struts.

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.

However, repairs are now certainly being carried out sooner, as initial footage posted on social media showed huge holes in the domed roof with material flapping in the fierce winds.

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 in Tropicana Field when the roof panels were torn apart and much of the debris fell onto the field and the seats below.

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.

Hurricane Milton’s devastating winds ripped through the roof of Tropicana Field on Wednesday

Hurricane Milton struck Tampa this week as citizens continue to grapple with the effects

The Ray’s NFL neighbors, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, also saw their stadium flooded by Milton.

And the NHL game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Carolina Hurricanes scheduled for Saturday also had to be postponed.

As of Thursday evening, nearly two thousand gas stations are without fuel and over 3 million Floridians are without power.

Additionally, about 25% of the state’s nearly 8,000 gas stations are out of gas, more than 63% of them in Tampa and St. Petersburg, the cities hit hardest by the storm.

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.

The baseball stadium had initially been converted into a base for first responders before the storm

A flooded street with debris is seen in Siesta Key, Florida following Hurricane Milton

“They have been relocated,” DeSantis said Thursday morning. “Tropicana Field is a routine collection point for these things.” 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 in the distance would give, they moved them out of Tropicana. “There were no government assets at Tropicana Field.”

According to the National Hurricane Center, Milton was downgraded to a Category 3 storm before hitting Siesta Key around 8:30 p.m. local time on Wednesday.

It then moved over central Florida, bringing flooding and strong winds, before spreading across the Atlantic Ocean, where it dissipated.