The impacts of climate change are often discussed. As the temperatures rise, our planet experiences a variety of changes. These changes can be abstract to those who haven’t experienced them. It can be difficult to understand how climate change affects not just our ecosystems and landscape, but even baseball. Tropicana field, the domed stadium of St. Petersburg, is where The Tampa Bay Rays are playing. It’s located on “ocean side” Tampa Bay.
The mid-Gulf Coast in Florida suffered heavy rainfall, strong winds, and an extremely large storm surge when Hurricane Milton hit the area at the end of October. Milton, a category 3 hurricane that weakened slightly before making landfall, caused damage estimated to be in excess of $34 billion, which makes it the costliest storm ever recorded. Only 35 people died from this storm, according to what we knew as late November.
The End of the Dome.
The roof of Tropicana field in St. Petersburg was damaged by hurricane Milton in 2024. Wikimedia Commons Credit (Adog). Tropicana field was one of the worst affected areas by the storm. The fiberglass roof was built to resist winds up to 125 miles an hour. The roof was not maintained (or replaced) for years, and when hurricane Milton struck with winds of at least 120 miles an hour, it was completely destroyed. The roof was in such a mess that the rains were able to flood the field, which had no drainage because it was covered with a dome.
An initial estimate for the repair of the roof came in at around $56,000,000. Much of that cost could have been covered through insurance placed on the stadium by St. Petersburg, as they are the owners. There is one complication. Rays, the City and Tropicana field had tentatively agreed to construct a baseball stadium at the Tropicana site. The new stadium could open as early as 2028. The question was: Do you repair a stadium that you will tear down within a few short years?
Let’s start with the stadium. St. Petersburg voted recently to keep the Tropicana field roof intact. There is little interest in fixing the Tropicana Field dome. I will not go into the politics of city versus team, but it’s clear that there are few initiatives to do so. The roof would not be finished until 2026, even if it were fixed. This raises a new question: Where will the Rays play by 2025? Later, more on this.
Hurricanes get bigger and badder
Gulf of Mexico sea surface average temperature. Upper Ocean Dynamics Lab. How does climate change relate to this?
It all comes down to hurricanes. Ocean water temperatures increase as the average air temperature of Florida increases. Ocean temperatures around Florida were above 90F in 2024. This is a very warm gulf water, and it is not good for ocean ecosystems. It is also bad if you want to avoid hurricanes.
The hurricane Milton developed on the other side of the Gulf of Mexico, near the Yucatan peninsula. The hurricane traveled only 750 miles (1200 km) to hit Tampa. It reached Category 5 within a few hundred mile before the storm swept across the Gulf of Mexico, losing some oomph and then hitting the coastline. What made it so powerful in such a small time span and over such a long distance? The energy is trapped in surface waters of the ocean as heat.
The hurricanes are formed by vaporizing seawater being pushed upwards, where moisture-laden air will condense (convect). Storms grow more intense as air and water warm. The heat that hurricanes absorb from the seawater is so great, they often leave behind a cooling of sea surface temperature as they move. It was as if the warm Gulf water was a huge fuel tank.
Predicted track of hurricane Milton through the Gulf of Mexico. National Hurricane Center.
The conditions were perfect for a little disturbance to be transformed into a hurricane on the Gulf of Mexico’s east coast. The storm would not have had nearly the same energy if it wasn’t for the warm water produced by the global warming. A massive hurricane hit the coast of Florida’s west, almost barreling into Tampa and St. Petersburg.
What happened to the Rays in 1945? What’s next in this baseball tale? In 2025, the Tampa Bay Rays are scheduled to play at Steinbrenner Field in New York Yankees’ spring training facility. The minor league stadium (at this time) is across the bay in Tampa, which is a separate county from St. Petersburg. The city of St. Petersburg was not happy. St. Petersburg’s city council is not willing to fund a $1.3 billion stadium after the change of the council, and because the Rays will be moving into the new stadium in 2025. The team has until the 1st of December to make a decision about their future. The future looks cloudy, if not stormy. The Rays need a new home. Tropicana field is no longer an old stadium. It’s a former one, and that includes without any repairs. The Rays are expected to play in minor league fields until 2025. After that, they may decide to move their team and relocate it somewhere else, such as Nashville, Orlando or Portland. It is possible that the storm which destroyed Tropicana field, caused by the impact of global warming on the climate, will be what prompts the Rays’ departure from Tampa, or Florida.
The Rays will still be feeling the effects of the storm in 2025 (beyond the smaller crowds). Steinbrenner Field, which is not a dome, will likely be humid, hot and rainy. Major League Baseball has anticipated this and the Rays are now at “home” much more often than not during the beginning and the end of the year. Due to the humid and hot conditions in their new stadium, we can expect Brandon Lowe to hit more home runs and Drew Rasmussen will give up more runs. Climate change is going to affect the statistics of every player who steps onto Steinbrenner Field.
Tropicana Field as a Microcosm.
This is the variation in September temperatures from the average over the last 100 years, dating to 1880 when NASA began its record. The graph below shows that September 2023 is by far the hottest month ever recorded. The September of this year was not far behind, coming in at second. NASA Climate
This is a low-stakes game in the big scheme of things. The Rays staying in Tampa won’t cause any pain or suffering to anyone other than the most ardent baseball fans. Maybe the team and the city will find a way to work together, allowing the Rays to stay in Tampa. Climate change will have many impacts, but they won’t be minor ones. The migration of people from places more susceptible to the effects of climate change, such as sea level rises, hotter summers and drought, will lead to conflict both politically and militarily.
We saw at the COP29 this month that many of the poorer nations are the ones who bear the brunt. Yet, the wealthier countries, like the US, seem willing to do much more to protect the people and build resilience. The imbalance is likely to worsen. It doesn’t necessarily mean that things are doomed, but we need to take these changes seriously if you want to adjust to the changing climate.
