Hurricane Milton tears roof off Rays’ stadium: What was the roof of Tropicana Field made of?

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.

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.

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.

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.