Milton destroys the roof of the Rays’ stadium, littering the field below with debris

Roof panels atop the home of the Tampa Bay Rays were ripped to shreds by Hurricane Milton, scattering debris across the field and throughout the seating areas after the deadly storm barreled across Florida.

Team officials said only a handful of essential personnel were inside Tropicana Field, located in St. Petersburg, when the storm hit. Aerial video and images showed the domed building’s roof completely tattered, giving a clear line of sight into the stadium.

No injuries were reported from the arena.

It the latest sports venue severely damaged by weather. Here’s a look at a few others:

Minnesota Vikings’ roof collapse

Heavy snow ripped a hole in the roof of the Metrodome in downtown Minneapolis on Dec. 12, 2010.

At least three sizeable panels collapsed, prompting officials to delay the Vikings’ home game scheduled for the following day against the New York Giants. The game was pushed to Monday and played in Detroit.

The roof was replaced, but the stadium was demolished four years later.

Dallas Cowboys’ practice facility collapse

The Dallas Cowboys’ practice facility collapsed during a wind storm on May 2, 2009, injuring about a dozen players and coaches. Special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis and 33-year-old scouting assistant Rich Behm received the most severe injuries. DeCamillis needed surgery to stabilize a fractured vertebrae in his neck, and Behm was permanently paralyzed from the waist down after his spine was severed.

Georgia Dome shredded

A severe storm ripped a hole in the roof of the Georgia Dome during the Southeastern Conference Tournament on March 14, 2008. It delayed Mississippi State’s victory over Alabama for more than an hour and postponed a game between Georgia and Kentucky.

With Mississippi State leading with 2:11 left in overtime, a loud blast was heard inside the dome. The girders near the dome’s roof began to swing, and a gaping section was ripped open, dropping debris that included nuts and bolts.

Players and coaches from the Bulldogs and Crimson Tide were sent to the locker room, along with the coaches’ wives and children, and stadium officials began evacuating fans from the upper reaches of the stadium.

SEC officials ended up moving other tournament games to Georgia Tech’s Alexander Memorial Coliseum.

Superdome damaged by Hurricane Katrina

As Hurricane Katrina made landfall in New Orleans on Aug. 25, 2005, the Superdome was being used as a shelter to house roughly 30,000. A few hours into the ordeal, parts of the roof started peeling off amid violent wind. Daylight could be seen from inside the dome as rain poured in.

Within two days, the Superdome had no air conditioning and temperatures had reached the 90s. Significant flooding from broken levees caused the Superdome to slowly start filling with water, though it remained confined to the field level. The Superdome eventually had to be evacuated, with mass relocation to the Astrodome in Houston.

The Saints had to play their entire regular season on the road, splitting games between their temporary headquarters at the Alamodome in San Antonio and LSU’s Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. They even played their first home game at Giants Stadium in New Jersey.

It cost roughly $185 million to fix the Superdome, which reopened for the Saints’ first home game in 2006.

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AP sports:

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MONTREAL – Dockworkers at the Port of Montreal have halted all overtime work in a pressure tactic targetting management as contract talks continue.

The overtime strike by the union representing nearly 1,200 longshore workers at the port kicked off as planned at 7 a.m. EDT on Thursday, the Maritime Employers Association confirmed.

The union has said scheduling remains a key stumbling block in the bargaining sessions, which resumed last week alongside federal mediators. Unpredictable shifts as well as reduced use of senior forepersons during operations are the major concerns, according to the union local, affiliated with the Canadian Union of Public Employees.

“We’re ready to negotiate intensively, but since the employer is dragging his feet, we’re putting a little pressure on him to devote his energies to finding a solution,” said union spokesman Michel Murray earlier this week.

The Maritime Employers Association (MEA) struck back, warning that employees assigned to shifts with incomplete crews will not be paid because they slow or halt the flow of freight.

The association, which represents shipping companies and terminal operators, said the freeze on overtime work will have a big impact on operations.

“The MEA believes that the systematic refusal of overtime will have significant repercussions on the port’s activities — even to the point of stopping operations — and, by extension, on businesses, industries and the public,” the group said in a statement Wednesday.

The limited job action comes after a three-day strike last week at two terminals that handle 41 per cent of container traffic at the country’s second-largest port.

Shipping companies may already be looking to mitigate the cost of potential cargo delays and rerouted vessels.

On Tuesday, Danish shipping giant Maersk announced it will slap a surcharge of $2,000 per container on Canada-bound freight from Europe.

Distributors and retail outlets worry they as well as consumers will bear the cost.

“A couple of grand on a box that’s only $4,000 or $6,000 is a pretty hefty premium,” said John Corey, president of the Freight Management Association of Canada, whose members include port authorities, manufacturers and other large shippers such as retailers Canadian Tire and Home Depot.

As companies seek other routes to market, fewer containers may be available to Canadian shippers, resulting in potential supply chain snarls and price hikes.

“Boats are going to be rerouted either to Vancouver or Halifax. It then causes crowding there,” said Lisa McEwan, co-owner of Hemisphere Freight, a customs brokerage firm.

Backlogs and labour disruptions tend to cause vendors and carriers to think twice about shipping as much cargo, she noted.

“They don’t send as many containers over because it’s going to take time for them to get those containers back,” said McEwan.

“If there’s less availability, then prices increase for shipping. That trickles down to the consumer and the importers and the shippers as well.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 10, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

MONTREAL – Air Canada pilots have given a green light to a tentative agreement with the airline, dashing any fears of a future strike and allowing management and passengers to breathe easier.

Aviators voted 67 per cent in favour of the deal, the Air Line Pilots Association said Thursday.

The agreement grants the carrier’s roughly 5,400 pilots a cumulative wage hike of nearly 42 per cent over four years.

The increase outstrips major gains won last year by pilots at the three biggest U.S. airlines, where pay bumps ranged between 34 and 40 per cent — though they started from a higher baseline.

Despite the big top-line figure, the fact that roughly one-third of Air Canada pilots voted to reject the agreement reveals ongoing divides over issues such as scheduling, quality of life and a large pay gap between newer employees and more experienced flight crews.

The head of the union’s Air Canada contingent argued the contract demonstrates the company’s commitment to its pilots.

“This agreement helps restore what Air Canada pilots have lost over the past two decades and creates a strong foundation from which to build on,” said Charlene Hudy in a statement on Thursday.

Air Canada also welcomed the thumbs-up from pilots.

“The agreement is mutually beneficial and it will keep our pilots the best compensated in Canada and provide the work-life balance improvements they were seeking. At the same time, the agreement gives our company flexibility and creates a framework for future growth of the airline and its network,” said chief executive Michael Rousseau in a release.

The tentative contract, hammered out in mid-September after more than a year of negotiations, averted a strike that would have seen some 670 flight cancellations and 110,000 passengers affected daily.

Over the past few weeks, the union held roadshows to pitch the would-be deal to members.

Hudy warned her colleagues in a virtual town hall last month that she would step down if they opted to reject the agreement, raising the stakes as aviators mulled whether to accept the salary gains or try to drive an even harder bargain.

About 99 per cent of eligible pilots cast ballots in the ratification vote, the union said.

The contract goes into effect immediately, retroactive to September 2023 and expiring on Sept. 29, 2027.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 10, 2024.

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