A rep for the company that installed the stadium’s roof, Geiger Engineers, did not return messages from NBC News seeking comment Thursday. A rep on Friday said the firm would not discuss the matter.
However in an interview with The New York Times, a top Geiger Engineers official appeared to shift blame for the roof’s destruction to the stadium owners and operators.
That roof was “well past its intended service life,” Geiger Engineers principal David Campbell told the newspaper. The Trop’s roofing fabric has a lifespan of 25 years, he said. Tropicana Field opened to the public in 1990 and still had its original roof.