Rays: Damage to Trop may take weeks to assess
The Tampa Bay Rays said it may take weeks to fully assess how much damage was done to Tropicana Field, which saw its roof ripped to shreds by the force of Hurricane Milton as the deadly storm barreled across much of Florida.
The team said no one was injured when the St. Petersburg ballpark was struck by the storm Wednesday night. A handful of “essential personnel” were inside Tropicana Field as the roof panels were blown apart, with much of the debris falling on the field and seats below.
“Over the coming days and weeks, we expect to be able to assess the true condition of Tropicana Field,” the Rays said Thursday. “In the meantime, we are working with law enforcement to secure the building. We ask for your patience at this time, and we encourage those who can, to donate to organizations in our community that are assisting those directly impacted by these storms.”
Milton was the second hurricane to hit Florida’s Gulf Coast in the span of two weeks, preceded by Hurricane Helene, which flooded streets and homes on that same side of the state and left at least 230 people dead across the South.
The Rays aren’t scheduled to play in the ballpark again until March 27, when they are supposed to host the Colorado Rockies to open the 2025 season.
For as bad as the damage was, the situation at Tropicana Field could have been worse. 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.
Those plans, however, were changed as the storm neared, amid concerns that the roof simply would not survive Milton’s wrath.
“They were relocated,” DeSantis said Thursday morning. “Tropicana Field is a routine staging area for these things. The roof on that … I think it’s rated for 110 mph and so the forecast changes, but as it became clear that there was going to be something of that magnitude that was going to be within the distance, they redeployed them out of Tropicana. There were no state assets that were inside Tropicana Field.”
The team previously said that Tropicana Field features the world’s largest cable-supported domed roof, with the panels made of “translucent, Teflon-coated fiberglass” supported by 180 miles of cables connected by struts.
The roof was designed to withstand wind of up to 115 mph, according to the Rays. The stadium opened in 1990 at an initial cost $138 million and is due to be replaced in time for the 2028 season with a $1.3 billion ballpark.
Hurricane Milton’s wrath was felt elsewhere on the sports landscape.
The Orlando Magic are planning to spend Thursday in San Antonio and return home Friday, a day behind their original schedule for the week after playing the Spurs in a preseason game Wednesday night.
The Magic scheduled a practice in San Antonio on Thursday and have tentative plans to fly back to Orlando on Friday. A preseason game that was to be played Friday in Orlando between the Magic and the New Orleans Pelicans was canceled and will not be rescheduled.
“There’s always things bigger than the game of basketball and that’s what we have to keep our perspective on,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said. “Knowing that there’s families and homes and situations that are going through a tough time right now, we need to be mindful of that and conscious of it.”
The Magic-Pelicans game is the second NBA preseason matchup to be affected by Milton. A game scheduled for Thursday in Miami between the Heat and Atlanta Hawks was postponed until Oct. 16 because of storm concerns. Also called off earlier this week: a rescheduled NHL preseason game on Friday in Tampa between the Lightning and Nashville Predators — one that was originally set to be played last month and was postponed because of Hurricane Helene.
A pair of college football games are set to be played Saturday in cities that dealt with some of Milton’s worst wind and rain, though there were some logistical issues that were still being discussed Thursday in the aftermath of the storm.
In Tampa, South Florida is preparing host Memphis — a game that was pushed back from Friday to Saturday. And in Orlando, UCF is preparing to host Cincinnati.
Both games are scheduled to have 3:30 p.m. ET kickoffs.
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Kristen Shilton
EDMONTON, Alberta — Dallas Stars forward Roope Hintz is back in the lineup for Game 4 of the Western Conference finals Tuesday.
The club’s top skater, sidelined since Game 2, when he took a slash to the left leg from Edmonton Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse, was placed on the top line, alongside Jason Robertson and Mikko Rantanen after taking warmups and line rushes prior to puck drop.
Hintz also took part in warmups before Game 3 on Sunday but exited early and was ruled out. He was back on the ice for Dallas’ optional practice Monday and told reporters he was “feeling good” and “trying to do everything I can” to get back in for Game 4.
It was early in the third period of Game 2 when Hintz — parked in front of the Oilers’ net — shoved Nurse from behind, and the Oilers’ blueliner responded by swinging his stick at Hintz’s leg. Hintz went down to the ice for several minutes before being helped off by Lian Bichsel and Mikael Granlund.
Nurse received a two-minute penalty for the slash but no supplementary discipline from the league. The blueliner addressed the incident publicly for the first time Tuesday, saying it didn’t come with malicious intent.
“I was backing up to net and I got shot in the back. And I think it was just a natural reaction [to respond],” Nurse said. “It’s probably a play that everyone in this room, whether you’re a net-front guy or D man, probably happens a dozen, two dozen times in a year. It’s unfortunate that I must have got [Hintz] in a bad spot. You don’t want to go out there and hurt anyone. But it was just one of those plays that happens so often.”
Having Hintz unavailable hurt the Stars in Game 3, a 6-1 drubbing by the Oilers that put Dallas in a 2-1 hole in the best-of-seven series. Hintz is the Stars’ second-leading scorer in the postseason, with 11 goals and 15 points through 15 games. He was hopeful when taking warmups Sunday that he’d feel good enough to get back in, but a quick discussion with the training staff made it clear he wasn’t ready.
Before Tuesday night, coach Peter DeBoer had since classified Hintz’s status as day-to-day.
“Of course you want to go every night, but sometimes you just can’t,” Hintz said. “I don’t know how close I [was to playing]. But I have played many years [and I] know when it’s good and when it’s not. I should be good to know that [when] it comes to that decision.”
The Oilers will have some lineup changes of their own to sort through in Game 4. Connor Brown, who is out after taking a hit from Alexander Petrovic in Game 3, will be replaced by Viktor Arvidsson. Calvin Pickard, injured in Edmonton’s second-round series against Vegas, will return to back up Stuart Skinner. And Edmonton continues to wait on defenseman Mattias Ekholm, who is getting closer to returning from a lower-body injury.
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Kristen Shilton
EDMONTON, Alberta — NHL official Chris Rooney was back on the ice Tuesday night for Game 4 of the Western Conference finals between the Edmonton Oilers and Dallas Stars.
It was the veteran referee’s conference finals debut, and a fitting return for Rooney given the circumstances. It was Rooney’s first game since he took a high stick to the face on May 17 during Game 7 of the Eastern Conference second-round series between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers.
Rooney was injured 13 seconds into the second period when Panthers’ defenseman Niko Mikkola caught him with the end of his stick while fighting for a puck. Rooney fell to the ice and was tended to by trainers from both teams.
While bloodied, he was able to leave under his own power. Rooney sustained a black eye and received stitches for his injury but had no lasting damage. He was replaced at the time by Garrett Rank, in the building on standby in case on injury.
It was clear even the day after his injury that Rooney, 50, hoped to resume duties at some point in the playoffs. The Boston native was finally able to step in for Game 4 with fellow referee Dan O’Rourke.
The pair was joined by linesmen Ryan Gibbons and Matt MacPherson. Referee Graham Skilliter and linesman Ryan Daisy were in the building as alternates.
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Kristen Shilton
EDMONTON, Alberta — Edmonton Oilers‘ top-line forward Zach Hyman was ruled out for the rest of Game 4 of the Western Conference finals Tuesday against the Dallas Stars after taking a hit from forward Mason Marchment, ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reported on the game broadcast.
The first-period collision appeared to immediately rattle Hyman, who dropped his stick and seemed to favor his right arm or wrist. Hyman went directly to the Oilers’ dressing room and did not return.
Hyman has been a key member of the Oilers’ postseason success, registering a league-leading 119 hits in 14 playoff games and scoring five goals and 11 points. He’s a fixture on the team’s top forward unit with Connor McDavid and is part of both the Oilers’ power play and penalty kill.
Edmonton was already down a forward going into Game 4 with Connor Brown sidelined after a hit from Dallas defenseman Alexander Petrovic in Sunday’s Game 3. Viktor Arvidsson returned to the lineup as Brown’s replacement on the fourth line.
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