Hurricane Milton Rips Roof Off Florida’s Tropicana Field Stadium, Smashes Crane Into Building

The roof was ripped off Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida, and a large crane was seen smashed across a downtown street after Hurricane Milton tore across the state following its landfall late Wednesday as a powerful Category 3 storm.

Video posted on social media captured the MLB stadium’s translucent roof, touted as the world’s largest cable-supported domed roof, ripping off piece by piece amid wind gusts over 100 mph and torrential rain.

The roof, made of Teflon-coated fiberglass, was built to withstand winds of up to 115 mph, according to an online field guide.

No injuries have been reported in relation to the damage, the city said.

The field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays, was initially slated to be used as a 10,000-person base camp for first responders and debris cleanup operations following the storm. Rows of empty cots and other supplies were seen lining the field’s outfield amid the roof’s destruction.

One video posted on X, formerly called Twitter, purportedly by a security agent inside the field, shows rows of cots and shredded material.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), at a press conference early Thursday, said the first responders were redeployed to another location prior to the storm’s impact.

Elsewhere in the city, a crane toppled off of a building in downtown St. Petersburg. The machinery crashed across the street and into a neighboring building that holds multiple offices, including the Tampa Bay Times.

Video taken on the ground shows debris from the buildings and a smashed metal structure covering the area and roads.

No injuries have been reported in relation to the collapse, the city said.