The domed roof at Tropicana Field was ripped to shreds from Hurricane Milton's powerful winds in St. Petersburg, Fla. Photo: Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images
Hurricane Milton's walloping of the Tampa Bay area left so much damage to Tropicana Field that many people now believe the Tampa Bay Rays won't be able to open their season there next March.
Why it matters: The damage has created speculation that the Rays might need to temporarily play somewhere else, and some people have pointed to the Durham Bulls, the Ray's Triple-A affiliate team, as the solution.
What they're saying: "The Rays could end up out of state, though ideally they would stay in the Eastern Time Zone for TV purposes," Tampa Bay Times' Rays beat reporter Marc Topkin wrote this week.
"Expect to hear suggestions that include Durham, North Carolina, home of their Triple-A team, and near Raleigh, which is hot for an expansion team," Topkin added.
Other locations noted, included Nashville and Charlotte.
Reality check: The speculation is likely too soon, as officials in the Tampa area are still determining how much work the field needs, especially since the Rays plan to move into a new stadium in the coming years anyway.
The Durham Bulls did not respond to a request for comment, but the team told WRAL, whose owners also run the Bulls, that there have been no conversations with the Rays yet.
"Engineers still haven't been able to access to see how much damage and how long a solution would take, so any discussions about playing anywhere but Tampa are premature at this point," Mike Birling, Capitol Broadcasting Company's vice president of baseball operations, told WRAL.
