Raymond James Stadium, home of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has been flooded after the city was devastated by Hurricane Milton this week.
As the storm continues to wreak havoc in Florida, footage circulating on social media shows the entire field covered in water at the football stadium as strong winds send ripples across the surface.
According to the Florida Weather Center, Raymond James was running on generators to maintain electrical power. It was also being used as a base for first responders to assist in post-storm repairs and cleanup.
The Buccaneers have already fled to New Orleans ahead of their Week 6 fixture against the Saints on Sunday to avoid the storm. The University of South Florida also uses Raymond James Stadium for its football team.
It’s been announced that a game USF was expected to host against the University of Memphis has been pushed back from Friday night to Saturday afternoon. The team said in a post on X: ‘We will assess the conditions and overall situation after the storm has passed to determine if any further adjustments are necessary.’
The field at Raymond James Stadium has been flooded after Hurricane Milton swept through
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While Tampa was not directly hit by Milton, the area did see extensive damage – including in St. Petersburg, where Tropicana Field – home of MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays – saw its roof torn off in the wind.
The ballpark had been turned into a base for around 10,000 first responders and emergency personnel before the storm arrived.
According to the NY Times, its roof was built to withstand winds of up to 115 mph. Wind speeds of 101 mph were detected in St. Petersburg at 10:30pm Wednesday.
Initial footage posted on social media showed huge holes in the domed roof, with material flapping in the vicious winds.
But now, the full extent of Hurricane Milton’s catastrophic impact on Tropicana Field can be seen in new videos of the ballpark, which has virtually been left without a roof.
Whole panels have been blown off the top of the arena by the storm, with the baseball field also ripped up and covered in debris.
After Hurricane Milton slammed into Florida’s gulf coast, Friday’s NBA preseason game in Orlando between the Magic and the New Orleans Pelicans was swiftly cancelled.
Hurricane Milton’s devastating winds ripped through the Tropicana Field roof on Wednesday
The home of the Tampa Bay Rays has been left completely devastated in its wake
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The Rays did not have any more MLB fixtures lined up at Tropicana Field this year after failing to make it into the playoffs.
National Guard and other first responders were stationed at the ballpark in order to help with relief efforts. There were no immediate reports of injuries inside.
As of Thursday morning, at least four deaths have been attributed to the storm – which arrived in Siesta Key near Sarasota as a Category 3 storm overnight.
The storm is currently out over the Atlantic Ocean after spending the night barraging Florida with heavy winds, rain, lightning, and even tornadoes throughout Wednesday.
Inital fears were that Tampa – a city of 3.1million people – would be directly hit by the storm. But instead, it hit Siesta Key – located 45 miles south.
Even still, St. Petersburg was lashed with rain – recording over 16 inches of precipitation and leading the National Weather Service to put out flash flood warnings.
Further to the south, the Lee County Sherriff’s Office reported localized flooding and storm surge – with Venice Beach officials saying they saw an estimated six to seven feet of storm surge.
More than three million homes and businesses in Florida were without power in a state already battered by Hurricane Helene two weeks ago.
At least four people were killed as a result of two tornadoes triggered by Hurricane Milton
In this aerial view, flood waters inundate a neighborhood after Hurricane Milton came ashore
Residents are rescued from an their second story apartment complex in Clearwater
As many as two million people were ordered to evacuate, with millions more living in the projected path of the storm.
Much of the southern US experienced the deadly force of Hurricane Helene as it cut a swath of devastation through Florida and several other states. Both storms are expected to cause billions of dollars in damage.
Florida governor Ron DeSantis said on Thursday morning that the aftermath of Hurricane Milton was not ‘the worst case scenario’.
He told reporters that the worst storm surge appeared to be in Sarasota County, where it was 8 to 10 feet – less than the highest levels recorded during Hurricane Helene two weeks ago.
He added crews across the state spent the night clearing debris, and confirmed that President Joe Biden’s administration had agreed to all of Florida’s request for emergency assistance.
