Hurricane Milton tears roof off Rays’ stadium: What was the roof of Tropicana Field made of?
Hurricane Milton continues to wreak havoc in Florida as it completely blew the roof off of Tropicana Field on Wednesday evening.
Hurricane Milton landed near Sarasota on Wednesday and has caused damaged throughout Florida, including significant flooding, tornadoes, homes destroyed, injuries, and even death.
On Wednesday evening, Hurricane Milton tore off the roof of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, the home of MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays.
Holy shit Tropicana field… the whole damn roof is gone. pic.twitter.com/Dnl46ALr20
— DaddyDimmuTV (@DaddyDimmuTv) October 10, 2024
What the roof was made of
The roof of the stadium was made of “ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), a polymer that’s stronger than glass but significantly lighter”, according to ABC News. The translucent, Teflon-coated fiberglass was built to withstand winds of up to 115 miles per hour. According to forecasters, late last night, the winds from the storm were at around 101 mph.
Large pieces of the roof were flapping in the wind for about half an hour before whole panels started blowing off the roof completely. The metal frame appears to still be intact.
OMG. We all had a collected gasp when we saw this from our reporter. The fabric on the roof of Tropicana Field is shredded. #StPete #Milton pic.twitter.com/36UKLO9cK6
— Jason Adams (@JasonAdamsWFTS) October 10, 2024
Were there any injuries?
Tropicana Field was being used as a 10,000-person base camp for first responders for hurricane recovery, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis had announced earlier in the week.
In preparation for #Milton, we are working with state and local emergency management partners at @TropicanaField to aid efforts for debris removal.
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) October 6, 2024
Tropicana Field is NOT being used as a shelter. We encourage residents to follow @StPeteFL & @PinellasGov for all storm updates. pic.twitter.com/LKZRUL3lhQ
There were reportedly cots on the field at the time the roof was blown off, but thankfully no injuries have been reported at this time.
Complete your personal details to comment