AP Photo/Chris O’Meara
Hurricane Milton tore the roof off of the Tropicana Field stadium in St. Petersburg, Florida on Wednesday evening.
The canvas roof of the stadium – which serves as the home ballpark for the Tampa Bay Rays – was completely destroyed after the Category 3 hurricane made landfall.
“OMG. We all had a collected gasp when we saw this from our reporter. The fabric on the roof of Tropicana Field is shredded,” reacted WFTS meteorologist Jason Adams, who posted a video of the broken canvas blowing in the wind.
At the time of the incident, the stadium was being used by first responders as a staging area for hurricane recovery and reportedly had cots on the field.
No injuries were reported as a result of the roof’s destruction, however.
According to ABC News, the stadium roof was “made from ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), a polymer that’s stronger than glass but significantly lighter.”
Drone footage captured the effects of Hurricane Milton on Tropicana field:
ABC News further reported that the metal frame of the roof “appeared to be unscathed.”
This story is developing.
