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Jarring Video on "X" Shows Damage to Tropicana Field, Home of Tampa Bay Rays

We already know that the Rays aren't likely to be able to play at Tropicana Field next March, and this video shows further proof as to why.

Brady Farkas

The roof of Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays MLB team, was torn off by Hurricane Milton's powerful winds. Satellite imagery from Maxar shows the destruction on Oct. 10, 2024. Prior to landfall, the stadium was converted into a base camp for emergency responders.
The roof of Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays MLB team, was torn off by Hurricane Milton's powerful winds. Satellite imagery from Maxar shows the destruction on Oct. 10, 2024. Prior to landfall, the stadium was converted into a base camp for emergency responders. / Satellite image ©2024 Maxar Technologies / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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After sustaining serious damage during the recent Hurricane Milton, Tropicana Field looks like it will be unavailable to play at for the Tampa Bay Rays, at least for the early portion of 2025.

Reports have already indicated that damage assessment will take weeks. The matter is complicated further because of the finances of it all: The Rays are moving into a new building in 2028, so do people want to fix the Trop - only to see the Rays leave soon anyways? So while MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred says he prefers for the Rays to play in their home market in 2025, there are options on the table that involve the Rays playing at an alternate site for early 2025, or maybe even for the whole year if necessary.

By this point, we've all seen the pictures of Tropicana Field with its roof blown mostly off, but we also just recently got one of the first videos of the inside of the ballpark.

It comes from @RaysTheRoofTB on "X" and shows the roof as well as the interior, which is still in disarray.

Tropicana Field has no drainage, which is why the Rays can't simply play there without a roof. The Rays may be forced to play outside in an open-air stadium next year, but it would be in a place that does have sufficient drainage.

The Rays have already moved some of their internal operations away from Tropicana Field, as the front office is posting up in a building near the ballpark.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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