Hurricane Milton severely damaged the roof of Tropicana Field, the home of the MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays.

Social media images and videos showed how the storm ravaged the multi-purpose domed stadium.

Per ESPN:

Capt. Garth Swingle of St. Petersburg Fire Rescue told ABC News that there has been contact with the people inside and that they are safe. It wasn’t immediately known whether there was damage inside the stadium.

No injuries at the stadium were reported. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis had said earlier in the week that there were plans for the ballpark to serve as a “temporary base camp” to support debris cleanup operations and temporarily house some first responders. The facility was set up to host 10,000 people, with cots arranged on the playing surface.

But those plans were changed as the storm neared, amid concerns that the roof simply would not survive Milton’s wrath.

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CNN reports:

The stadium’s roof is built to withstand winds of up to 115 mph, according to the Rays’ media guide.

But as Milton’s strength intensified – eventually making landfall whipping 120-mph winds – the first responders were relocated, DeSantis said Thursday.

“They were moved before the storm,” the governor said. “There were no state assets that were in Tropicana Field.”

“The roof is made from ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), a polymer that is stronger than glass but significantly lighter,” ESPN noted.

“I was able to actually get my hands on a piece of that roof, to kind of feel the material, and it feels just (like) thick vinyl,” storm chaser Jonathan Petramala told CNN.

“And you could see it just had no chance against those winds of Hurricane Milton,” Petramala added.

 

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