{"id":222743,"date":"2026-04-08T00:40:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T00:40:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/222743\/"},"modified":"2026-04-08T00:40:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T00:40:16","slug":"tampa-bay-rays-back-at-tropicana-field-for-the-first-time-in-over-500-days-since-hurricane-milton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/222743\/","title":{"rendered":"Tampa Bay Rays back at Tropicana Field for the first time in over 500 days since Hurricane Milton"},"content":{"rendered":"

TAMPA BAY, Fla. \u2013 As we are nearly two weeks into the start of the Mlb<\/a> season, the Tampa Bay Rays have reopened their stadium for the first time since Hurricane Milton<\/a> tore through Florida.<\/p>\n

For the first time in 561 days, the Tampa Bay<\/a> Rays reopened Tropicana Field for their first home game of the season against the Chicago <\/a>Cubs on Monday.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

This comes after Hurricane<\/a> Milton tore through Florida<\/a> in October 2024, destroying most of the iconic Tampa Bay stadium in the process, ripping apart large sections of the fiberglass roof during winds<\/a> of over 100 mph.<\/p>\n

Tampa Bay Rays Plan On Returning To Tropicana Field After Hurricane Damage Repaired<\/a><\/p>\n

Thankfully, no one was injured in the stadium during the extreme weather<\/a> event. Still, the stadium sustained serious damage, with the roof completely torn off and pieces of material spread across the field, stands and dugouts.<\/p>\n

When scanning through the stadium, the extensive damage showcases the raw strength of Milton and the life-threatening wind<\/a> gusts that helped tear the structure apart.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Since the devastating hurricane, the Rays were lucky enough to temporarily relocate to the Yankees\u2019 spring training facility, George M. Steinbrenner Field, while renovations and rebuilding occurred at Tropicana Field.<\/p>\n

Here Are 10 Of The Best Beaches In The Us For Digital Detoxing<\/a><\/p>\n

Part of the return to the stadium includes the fun-filled stingrays, located inside the ballpark, who miraculously rode out the storm before being relocated, according to MLB.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"ST.<\/p>\n

ST. PETERSBURG, FL – APRIL 06: A cownose stingray swims in the outfield Tampa Bay Rays Touch Experience prior to the game between the Chicago Cubs and the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field on Monday, April 6, 2026 in St. Petersburg, Florida.<\/p>\n

They have finally returned home to the ballpark, once again.<\/p>\n

Upon landfall, the Category 3 hurricane<\/a> displaced thousands of Floridians, causing an estimated $34.3 billion in damage across the Sunshine State. The hurricane was responsible for 12 direct deaths in the U.s.<\/a>, according to the NHC\u2019s Tropical Cyclone Report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Advertisement<\/p>\n

Thankfully, the city council of St. Petersburg<\/a> approved the $23 million plan to repair the ballpark\u2019s roof and other needs.<\/p>\n

Much-needed Rain To Drench Florida Through The Week Amid Extreme Drought<\/a><\/p>\n

The reopening of the stadium marks a huge milestone and sheds light on the Tampa Bay community\u2019s resilience in rebuilding from what once was.<\/p>\n

Original article source: Tampa Bay Rays back at Tropicana Field for the first time in over 500 days since Hurricane Milton<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TAMPA BAY, Fla. \u2013 As we are nearly two weeks into the start of the Mlb season, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":222744,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[24229,1802,135,1526,3815,137,136,8125,77437],"class_list":{"0":"post-222743","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa","8":"tag-chicago-cubs","9":"tag-hurricane-milton","10":"tag-tampa","11":"tag-tampa-bay","12":"tag-tampa-bay-rays","13":"tag-tampa-headlines","14":"tag-tampa-news","15":"tag-tropicana-field","16":"tag-yankees"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=222743"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222743\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/222744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=222743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=222743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=222743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}