Tropicana Field roof completely destroyed by Hurricane Milton

Drone footage from Thursday morning showed that the vast majority of the roof was pretty much shredded, exposing the interior of the stadium to the elements.

The Rays issued a statement Thursday, stating they were already working to secure the stadium and would be assessing the severity of the damage in the weeks to come.

The Tampa-St. Petersburg area dodged a worst-case scenario in terms of storm surge, as the center of Milton came in south of Tampa Bay, which prevented significant water rise throughout the area. However, the area was heavily affected by strong winds and remarkably heavy rain on the northern side of the system. The area was also impacted by significant water rise two weeks ago, when Hurricane Helene passed the area to the west.

A new stadium for the Rays has been a major topic for years, particularly since Tropicana Field is rather dated and can be plagued by some unusual issues. This won’t necessarily accelerate that process, but it will certainly force the topic to come up again. For now, though, the Rays will have to get the stadium repaired and cleaned up by the start of next season.