Milton destroys the roof of Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays

Powerful winds from Hurricane Milton on Wednesday night nearly tore the entire roof off. near the Tampa Bay Rays’ baseball stadium, Tropicana Field, which had been set up for use by workers responding to the storm.

Aerial drone, television and still images of St. Petersburg’s domed stadium showed that massive sections of its panel roof had been torn off by winds of more than 100 mph.

The stadium’s playing field and stands could be seen in these overheard images, through where the boards once stood. It was not immediately clear whether the interior of the stadium suffered major damage.

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High winds also toppled a construction crane at 400 Central Ave. in St. Petersburg, about three-quarters of a mile from Tropicana Field, officials said.

There were no immediate reports of injuries in this area of downtown St. Petersburg, according to a city statement.

As late as noon Tuesday, the Florida Division of Emergency Management said it was “establishing a 10,000-person base camp at Tropicana Field to support ongoing debris operations and post-landing responders.”

The roof was designed to absorb winds of up to 110 mph, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said. And with gusts predicted to exceed that standard, workers and equipment were removed from Tropicana Field, he added.

Tropicana Field from Hurricane Milton — An aerial view of the shredded roof of Tropicana Field in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida, following Hurricane Milton, October 10, 2024.Tampa Bay Times/Zuma Press via Shutterstock

“As it became clear that there was going to be something of this magnitude nearby, they redeployed them out of Tropicana,” DeSantis told reporters Thursday. “There were no state assets at Tropicana Field.”

The stadium opened in 1990 and is usually busy with playoff baseball games during the latter part of October, but not this year.

The Rays finished 80-82 last season, in their first campaign below .500 since 2017. Tampa Bay missed the playoffs for the first time since 2018.

The American League club said it was in no rush to determine the extent of the damage to Tropicana Field.

“Our priority is to support our community and our staff. We are fortunate and grateful that no one was injured by the damage caused to our stadium last night,” the team said in a statement Thursday afternoon.

“Over the coming days and weeks, we hope to be able to assess the true condition of Tropicana Field. In the meantime, we are working with law enforcement to secure the building.

The Rays are scheduled to open the 2025 season at home against the Colorado Rockies on March 27.