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Report: Bucs Stadium, Tampa facilities avoided major damage from Hurricane Milton | News, scores, highlights, stats and rumors
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Report: Bucs Stadium, Tampa facilities avoided major damage from Hurricane Milton | News, scores, highlights, stats and rumors

TAMPA, FLORIDA - SEPTEMBER 08: A general view inside the stadium before the game between the Washington Commanders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Raymond James Stadium on September 8, 2024 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)

Julio Aguilar/Getty Images

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ stadium and practice facilities “appear to have sustained only cosmetic damage” after Hurricane Milton’s landfall, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported.

Rapoport noted that “site investigations are still being conducted.”

Videos posted to social media appeared to show flooding on the field at Raymond James Stadium on Wednesday.

Yahoo Sports @YahooSports

It was a terrifying scene at Raymond James Stadium as Hurricane Milton passed by.
(via Draco214x/TT)
pic.twitter.com/JAKbNcjdFT

Ryan Bass @Ry_Bass

Now that the sun is up, here’s a 360-degree view of the damage Hurricane Milton caused to the roof of Tropicana Field and the inside of the ballpark. Absolutely heartbreaking 💔 pic.twitter.com/ZCtPHv6rE9

The damage could impact the Rays heading into the 2025 season. As Sampson and Urso reported, “There is no drainage system for the field, so no games could be played without a roof.”

In the short term, there could also be further damage to Tropicana Field, caused by rain impacting “dugouts, team equipment areas and service areas,” Sampson and Urso noted.

The Buccaneers, who have played at Raymond James Stadium since 1998, have a lease that expires in 2028, according to the club’s Rick Stroud. Tampa Bay Times.

In July, Stroud theorized that the stadium might have to make “significant upgrades” to convince the Bucs to remain tenants in Tampa Bay. Rapoport’s reports of relatively limited storm damage will come as a relief as leadership eyes a potential new deal with the team.

The Buccaneers’ next home game is scheduled for Monday, October 21 against the Baltimore Ravens. It remains to be seen whether the “cosmetic damage” will cause this date to be brought forward Monday night football matchup.

Hurricane Milton, which came less than two weeks after the devastation of Hurricane Helene, left three million Floridians without power and caused 150 tornadoes and several deaths, according to Terry Spencer and Kate Payne of the Associated Press. The extent of the damage caused by the storm is still being determined.