Tampa Bay Lightning being forced to evacuate arena during training camp

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Dorin Canaday
September 26, 2022 (5:43 PM)

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Every team in the NHL is currently preparing for the start of the NHL season. Unfortunately for the Tampa Bay Lightning it appears that their training camp is going to be cut short. Hurricane Ian is currently churning over the Gulf of Mexico and is expected to bring catastrophic storm surge to the Tampa Bay area as early as Wednesday.

Clearly the weather is out of the Lightning's control but due to the location of their arena and hotel it does appear the team will be forced to relocate. With both the team hotel and arena located within the mandatory evacuation area the team is taking immediate precautions.

''Awaiting word from #GoBolts officials, nothing back yet, but Evacuation Zone A in HIlls. Co. under mandatory evacuation orders, this includes the Marriott Waterside where many players are staying during camp as well as Amalie Arena area and many of the areas the players reside.''

''But with Amalie in Evacuation Zone A, hard to see either of this week's scheduled preseason games behind held (Wed/Thurs) in town plus players staying Marriott have to be transported elsewhere. Team could take camp out of town, maybe Nashville, for the next few days.''

With training camp an extremely important part of season prep, it's expected the Lightning will attempt to relocate to a safer location. Hopefully, all residents of Tampa Bay remain safe during this storm as it is expected to do significant damage.

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