Rays say it could take 'weeks' to fully assess damage at Tropicana Field after hitting Milton area

The Tampa Bay Rays said it could take weeks to fully assess how much Tropicana field was damaged, What I saw was that the roof was torn off Hurricane Milton Severe storm impacts across much of Florida.

The team said no one was injured in the storm at the St. Petersburg ballpark Wednesday night. A handful of “essential workers” were inside Tropicana field As the roof panels were blown off, most of the debris fell on the field and the seats below.

“In the coming days and weeks, we hope to be able to assess the actual condition of Tropicana Field,” Ray said Thursday. “Meanwhile, we are working with law enforcement agencies to secure the building. We ask for your patience at this time, and we encourage those who can to donate to organizations in our community that are helping those directly affected by this storm.”

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

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

As bad as the damage was, conditions at Tropicana Field could have been worse. Governor of Florida. Ron DeSantis said earlier in the week that the ballpark is planned to serve as a “temporary base camp” to support debris cleanup efforts and temporarily house some first responders. But those plans were changed as the storm approached, amid concerns that the roof would not survive Milton's wrath.

“They were transferred,” DeSantis said at a news conference Thursday morning. “Tropicana Field is a routine staging area for these things. The roof on that… I think it's rated for 110 mph and so the forecast changed, but as it became clear that there was going to be something of that magnitude in the distance, They redeployed them from Tropicana. There were no state assets inside Tropicana Field.”

The team previously said Tropicana Field has the world's largest cable-supported domed roof, with panels supported by 180 miles of cables supported by “opaque, Teflon-coated fiberglass.”

According to Ray, the roof was designed to withstand winds of up to 115 miles per hour. The stadium opened in 1990 at an initial cost of $138 million and that's it Due to being replaced In time for the 2028 season with a $1.3 billion ballpark.

Buzz postpones home opener

The Tampa Bay Lightning will not play their home opener on Saturday as planned.

The NHL said Thursday that Saturday's Lightning game against the Carolina Hurricanes has been postponed “amid recovery efforts in the Tampa Bay area from the effects of Hurricane Milton.”

No makeup date is announced immediately. The Lightning open the season Friday at Carolina and traveled there earlier this week to get out ahead of the storm.

The change means Tampa Bay's home opener is now set for Tuesday against Vancouver.

“There's a lot of anxiety for everybody,” Lightning coach John Cooper said after Thursday's practice. “That's our home. It's going to be very different from when we left.”

The Lightning also had their preseason finale, scheduled to play this past Monday against Nashville, canceled due to Milton's impending arrival. That game was originally scheduled to be played last month and was postponed due to Hurricane Helen.

A moment of silence was observed in Ottawa before the Senators' game against the Florida Panthers on Thursday night in honor of those affected by Milton.

The return of magic is delayed

The Orlando Magic spent Thursday in San Antonio and plan to return home Friday, one day behind their original schedule for the week.

The Magic played a preseason game in San Antonio on Wednesday night. They had intended to fly home Thursday, arriving in Orlando in the afternoon — those plans were scrapped because of Milton.

Instead, the Magic scheduled a practice Thursday in San Antonio and tentatively plan to return to Orlando on Friday. A preseason game scheduled for Friday in Orlando between the Magic and New Orleans Pelicans has been canceled and will not be rescheduled.

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

The Magic-Pelicans game is the second NBA preseason matchup dominated by Milton. A game scheduled for Thursday between the Heat and Atlanta Hawks in Miami has been postponed until Oct. 16 due to storm concerns.

USF still plays, but moved

USF's game with Memphis has been moved again — this time, to Orlando.

The teams were scheduled to play Friday night in Tampa, then were rescheduled to play there Saturday afternoon due to storm concerns. And on Thursday night, the game was changed again and the site is now set to be Camping World Stadium in Orlando, about 90 miles northeast of Tampa.

The American Athletic Conference said the decision was made “in the interest of public safety and for response and recovery efforts” in the Tampa area after Milton.

The game starts at 3:30 PM.