The roof of Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays, was blown off Wednesday evening by Hurricane Milton’s powerful winds.
The field had been set up to serve as a shelter for thousands of emergency responders, though only essential personnel were present at the time the roof lining was ripped apart. No injuries were reported.
"No first responders were being staged at Tropicana Field and the essential personnel that were there are all accounted for and safe," a Tampa Bay Rays spokesperson told ABC News. "Teams will be assessing the situation more when it is safe to do so."
Ahead of the storm, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the stadium was set up to be a 10,000 person base camp to "support ongoing debris operations and post-landfall responders."
The storm made landfall as a Category 3 storm, with sustained winds reaching 120 miles per hour Wednesday night in Siesta Key, the National Hurricane Center said. Milton has since been downgraded to a Category 1, but strong winds, a storm surge, and flooding are still significant threats to the Gulf Coast.
Update: DeSantis press secretary Jeremy Redfern said the stadium had been set up as a staging area, not a shelter, because of a concern over the roof.
This is NOT the location where linemen nor first responders were staying last night. They moved to a safe staging location ahead of #Milton landfall. https://t.co/Oxm0KH84rS
— Christina Pushaw 🐊 🇺🇸 (@ChristinaPushaw) October 10, 2024
Editor's Note: The headline has been edited to remove reference to the stadium being used as a shelter.