October 10, 2024 — Hurricane Milton tore into Florida’s west coast on Wednesday, wreaking havoc across the Tampa Bay area. The Category 3 storm, which had reached Category 5 status over the Gulf of Mexico earlier this week, caused significant damage, including tearing off large sections of the roof at Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays.

Tropicana Field, located in St. Petersburg, Florida, sustained serious damage as Milton made landfall near Sarasota. Within hours, pieces of the roof, which spans six acres of translucent, Teflon-coated fiberglass, began coming off. While the stadium had been set up as a staging area for first responders, it was not being used as a shelter for local residents. Fortunately, no injuries were reported as of Wednesday night, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Designed to withstand winds up to 115 mph, the stadium’s roof proved no match for Hurricane Milton’s fierce winds, which reached up to 120 mph at landfall. The fixed-roof ballpark, which opened in 1990 and can hold more than 42,700 fans, is the only stadium in Major League Baseball with such a structure.

In addition to the damage at Tropicana Field, Raymond James Stadium in Tampa—home of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers—was quickly flooded. Unlike Tropicana, Raymond James does not have a roof, and while the Buccaneers were on the road, the stadium suffered from the intense rainfall and storm surge that accompanied Milton.

Milton made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane near Sarasota, bringing storm surges of up to 13 feet in parts of the Tampa Bay region. Tampa Mayor Jane Castor issued stark warnings to residents in evacuation zones ahead of the storm, saying, “If you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you’re going to die.”

By Wednesday night, more than 1.6 million Floridians were without power, and the state had reported over two dozen tornadoes or tornado-related damage.

Hurricane Milton’s destruction marks another major challenge for Florida as recovery efforts begin across the region.