Orlando, Florida – Concerns about Hurricane Milton and its effects in Florida led to the cancellation of the preseason game scheduled for Friday in Orlando, between the Magic and the New Orleans Pelicansreported the NBA.
The meeting will not be rescheduled.
Orlando was playing in San Antonio on Wednesday night and was scheduled to return to central Florida on Thursday. Those plans are now in doubt because of the storm, which made landfall Wednesday night near Siesta Key, Florida, and moved across the state.
“There are always things bigger than a basketball game and that’s what we have to keep in perspective,” Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said.
“Knowing that there are families and households … that are going through a difficult time right now, we need to be aware of that.”
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The Magic-Pelicans game is the second NBA preseason game affected by Milton. A match scheduled for this Thursday in Miami between the Heat and the Hawks in Atlanta was postponed until October 16 due to concerns about the storm.
Also rescheduled earlier this week for Friday was an NHL preseason game in Tampa between the Lightning and the Predators. That match was originally scheduled to be played last month and was postponed due to the Hurricane Helene.
Likewise. Countless collegiate and high school events in Florida have also been canceled or postponed due to the storm.
For now, two exhibitions planned by Simone Biles and other Olympic gymnasts are still standing this weekend. The tour is scheduled to arrive on Friday at Sunrise, home of the Florida PanthersStanley Cup champions. On Saturday he would arrive in Orlando.
On the other hand, the fabric roof of the Tropicana Fieldhouse of the Tampa Bay Rayswas left in tatters after Hurricane Milton passed through Florida on Wednesday night, with wind gusts of up to 130 miles per hour from the Category 3 hurricane.
It was not immediately clear if there was damage inside the facility located in the town of St. Petersburg.
The Rays park was not used as a shelter, but the Tampa Bay Times reported that it was used as a shelter. “a training site for workers” who were brought to the area to deal with the aftermath of the storm.
The stadium opened in 1990 and initially cost $138 million. It was scheduled to be replaced in time for the 2026 season by a 1.3 billion park.
