ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — One year after Hurricane Milton tore through the Tampa Bay area, the image that still defines that devastating storm is the shredded roof of Tropicana Field.
Tampa Bay 28’s Erik Waxler was just a block away that night, watching from a rooftop balcony and reporting live as the destruction unfolded.
Watch full report from Erik Waxler
“I had just gotten a tip something was up, so we came to the fifth-floor balcony of the Tru by Hilton Hotel,” Waxler recalled. “With the rain and wind at full blast, we got our first look at the destruction going on at Tropicana Field.”
During that live broadcast, meteorologist Denis Phillips tossed to Waxler in St. Petersburg.
“So let’s go to Erik Waxler right now,” Phillips said. “And he is in St. Pete and last I checked we had 85 mile an hour wind gusts and now they are even higher. Erik?”
“Denis, we have something unbelievable to show you,” Waxler replied. “The roof. A big portion of it has ripped off.”
Earlier that day, Waxler had taken photos from the same vantage point showing dark clouds forming above the stadium. He even snapped a selfie at 4:23 p.m., one of the last photos of the ballpark before the roof was destroyed. Hours later, Tropicana Field’s dome was in tatters.
“You wonder, the more the wind gets inside, if we’ll see other parts of it blow off,” Waxler reported live as the winds intensified.
At the time, it was unclear how extensive the damage was. “I have a good look at the base of the stadium and I do not see any structural damage as we feel these gusts coming,” Waxler said.
In the end, the roof was a total loss. The stadium’s interior also sustained millions of dollars in water and wind damage.
The morning after the storm, Waxler walked the area around the ballpark and found pieces of the roof scattered throughout nearby neighborhoods. Some people picked up fragments as souvenirs.
“What are you going to do with that piece?” he asked one resident.
“Hang it in my room,” the person replied.
The storm, which brought sustained winds of more than 100 mph and caused widespread destruction across Pinellas County, also toppled a crane that crashed into a downtown office building.
Residents who live near the stadium still vividly recall that night.
“One year ago tonight. What do you remember?” Waxler asked resident Leydin Chavez.
“Actually, coming outside and just seeing the roof completely gone,” she said. “It was so, so sad. So sad.”
Greg Thompson, who rode out the storm in Lutz, said he was shocked by what he saw the next morning. “I was up in Lutz kind of following what was going on and woke up the next morning in shock to see the roof gone,” he said.
Alexander Arenburg, who lives and works near Tropicana Field, remembered the chaos as the roof peeled away.
“What happened was it was blowing everywhere,” he said. “The whole roof. It was flapping and making noise and everyone was freaking out.”
Asked if it was frightening, Chavez said, “It was definitely scary. I mean, experiencing that for the first time - a hurricane like that. It’s such a big part of the community. It was really heartbreaking to see it.”
Now, a year later, work continues on Tropicana Field’s new roof. Crews are steadily installing new panels, with completion expected in December. The $60 million repair project is on track to be finished in time for the Tampa Bay Rays’ 2026 season.
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