Disaster Strikes Athletics

The Recent Hurricanes Helene and Milton Bring Destruction to Sports

Photo by Virginia Office of the Governor / CC BY 2.0

From Sept. 26 to 30 and on Oct. 9, hurricanes Helene and Milton made landfall in the United States and caused devastating destruction. Helene made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend Area as a category 4 hurricane, which later traveled through Georgia, South Carolina and then Tennessee. Not even a week later, Milton made landfall in Central Florida as a category 3 hurricane, causing more destruction in Florida. 

Both hurricanes caused a total of $50 billion in destruction and over 1 million power outages. Sports teams throughout Florida were forced to cancel games from destruction or unsafe environments to travel through.

According to AP News, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were forced to leave Tampa early in order to practice for the game against the Saints on Sunday, Oct. 13. The Bucs departed on Tuesday, Oct. 8 and traveled to New Orleans in order to practice before their game due to Hurricane Milton. 

Another team to experience a pause in their schedule due to Milton was the Tampa Bay Rays’. Tropicana Field was destroyed after the hurricane, leaving the field with an open roof and damage to the field. USA Today reported that the field suffered significant damage and is unlikely to be fixed by their home opener in March. 

College sports teams were not the only teams affected by the storm. High school teams in North Florida were forced to cancel or reschedule their games due to damage to their campuses from Hurricane Helene. On Friday, Oct. 4, the Maclay Marauders football team was scheduled to play Hamilton County, but the game was ruled a no-contest due to the damage to Hamilton County’s sports fields. Kathy Ezell noted on her Facebook account that counties all along the Gulf Coast were completely destroyed. Numerous communities were impacted by storm surge, flooding and winds, leaving many families without a place to go back to.

Sports teams to this day are still recovering from the devastation brought by both hurricanes Helene and Milton. Will Florida be able to fully recover from the destruction soon or will sports teams across Florida be forced to take a pause for a while?