DeSantis says state assets were moved from Tropicana Field before roof blew off

TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday said the state moved a 10,000-person base camp it had set up at the Tampa Bay Rays stadium to help with the post-storm recovery after it became clear that Hurricane Milton would pose a threat to the structure, located in St. Petersburg.

The Category 3 storm ripped off large swaths of Tropicana Field’s roof, with videos and photos showing its tattered pieces blowing in the wind.

“As it became clear that there was going to be something of that magnitude that was going to be within the distance, they re-deployed them out of Tropicana,” DeSantis said at a news conference in Tallahassee. “There were no state assets that were in Tropicana Field, I think Duke also removed all their assets as well.”

The roof was made of “six acres of translucent, Teflon-coated fiberglass and supports itself with 180 miles of cables connected by struts,” according to the Tampa Bay Rays media guide, and was “built to withstand winds of up to 115 mph.”

Now, DeSantis said, “the roof is basically like a fabric.” He said the state “understood” the stadium’s roof was not built to withstand winds of more than 110 mph, so state officials “acted accordingly” and moved the staging area out of there.

The state’s staging area was relocated to Jacksonville around midnight on Tuesday, DeSantis’ press secretary Jeremy Redfern told the Times/Herald. Hurricane Milton made landfall at 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

DeSantis said the state has used the stadium as a “routine staging area” during storms, including Hurricane Helene last month.

The staging area at Tropicana Field was set up for 10,000 people to help with debris removal and first-responder operations after the storm.

Early in the week, videos showed dozens of rows of empty green cots. The location was part of what the governor described as the “largest storm mobilization in the history of the state of Florida” ahead of Hurricane Milton.

DeSantis said the damage to the stadium would not have “any major impact” on the state’s storm response.

“They are in the fight and will continue to do it,” he said.

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