ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Matt Silverman, president of the Tampa Bay Rays for 17 years, evacuated with his family to Orlando, turned on CNN, and was devastated by the images, believing there would never be another game played at Tropicana Field.
Erik Neander, president of baseball operations of the Rays, was home without power, drove over to Tropicana Field, and was standing in water in the front office with skylight above him, with the roof blown off.
Rays manager Kevin Cash drove around the outside of Tropicana Field after Hurricane Milton, and thought it was like a horror move, and wanted to cry after seeing the damage.
Now, here they were Monday night, two years and days after Hurricane Milton and its 120-mph winds, ripped the roof off Tropicana Field, leaving the ballpark in shambles, causing $34.3 billion of damage in the area, standing on the field together before Game 3 of the World Series.
You talk about a miraculous comeback.
The Rays, who spent the entire 2025 season playing their home games in Tampa at the New York Yankees' spring training ballpark, were basking in the limelight and comfort of home, with their first World Series game at Tropicana Field since 2008.
“To be here, under this room, is just amazing,’’ Silverman told USA TODAY Sports. “I remember waking up early that next morning, and I was trying to figure out where we were going to play. I really thought at that time that we would never return here. The cost would be so prohibitive.’’
Neander was emotional just standing on the field watching his team take batting practice before Game 3, the horrific memories still so vivid.
“You’re seeing this footage as the second storm in such a short time period was ripping through and leaving buildings in tatters,’’ Neander softly said. “I’m thinking, 'Yeah, we’re probably playing the last game of that building at that point.’ There was a lot other more important stuff going on, with lives being impacted beyond the building, but it’s just so amazing to see it now.’’
When Neander and Rays executives toured the Trop just days after the destruction, never did any of them believe this day was possible.
“I remember walking in here and seeing the amount of water in places, seeing sky in the offices that we shouldn’t be able to see the skies,’’ Neander said. “The damage was considerable. It led to a lot of questions of whether we were going to be playing another game in here again. And candidly, we probably weren’t.’’
Andrew Miller, a special assistant with the players union after a 16-year career, lives with his family in Tampa and said Monday that he never would have believed he'd be setting foot in Tropicana Field again.
“I mean, just seeing this place fully exposed,’’ Miller said, “it was heartbreaking. In the moment, I didn’t think through the logistics of what they were going to do, but I couldn’t imagine how they were going to put the pieces back together.
“They did a great job. I mean, it’s unbelievable.’’
The damage was so extensive, costing $59.7 million in repairs that the Rays wouldn’t let new principal owner Patrick Zalupski even visit Tropicana Field while he was in process of closing out the $1.78 acquisition from Stu Sternberg. Yet, here they were, with a sellout crowd now admiring and appreciating the 38-year structure.
Home sweet home after having to play the entire 2025 season in Tampa at Steinbrenner Field, finishing in a tie with the Milwaukee Brewers for the best home record in baseball, 55-26.
“We like playing at home,’’ Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “Steinbrenner was not home. Steinbrenner was incredibly nice for us to be able to stay in the bay area and play, but there wasn't any player that walked into that stadium and said, “Oh, man, this feels like home.’
“This is home.’’
Still, to this day, Cash has trouble believing this is even reality, not after what he witnessed that night of two years ago.
“I saw it in the middle of the night,’’ Cash said. “We were getting texts going back and forth. I did not think it was real. Then the next day I drove down from Gainesville, my in-laws' place, because we had evacuated, and saw it. Kind of speechless.
“I just drove around the outside. There were branches and trees and tarp. It was a mess.’’
The stadium was in such tatters, with the roof ripped off, that the Rays didn’t think it was worth even repairing since they were seeking a new ballpark anyways. They had to replace all 24 roof panels. Now, with the place looking as good as it has since it opened for the expansion Rays in 1998, with upgraded clubhouses, renovated suites, new playing surface, and brighter lighting, they will be here just another two years, with plans approved and formalized to move into a new $2.3 billion facility in Tampa in 2009.
“This place is as nice,’’ Silverman said, “as it’s ever been.’’
So, when Brewers closer Trevor Megill chastised the white roof at Tropicana Field on Sunday, saying “Whoever decided to make the roof the same [expletive] color as the baseball is a [expletive] idiot,’’ Rays officials could only shake their head.
“This represents a lot of additional meaning,’’ Neander says, “for obvious reasons.’’
St. Petersburg mayor Ken Welch told the Sports Business Journal: “To us, it’s a symbol of resilience, what seemed like an insurmountable challenge at the time. It’s now the home for the biggest game in baseball.”
In 2½ years, they’ll have their own gorgeous $2.3 billion retractable roof ballpark in Tampa, which the Rays believe could be a huge boon to attendance and their banking accounts after averaging just 17,469 fans this season, second-worst in baseball. They haven’t had season attendance ranking higher than third-worst in the American League since 2010.
“I’m really looking forward to a new ballpark,’’ Silverman said. “We tried for almost 20 years. This new ownership group has been able to do something, that frankly, I didn’t think was in our capacity to do in Tampa.
“So, I will be even more emotional when that opens up.’’
But for now, even with no view of the sky in the enclosed dome, the evening at the Trop never looked so beautiful.
Follow Bob Nightengale at X @Bnightengale.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Hurricanes ripped the roof off Tropicana Field. Now it’s hosting the World Series