Leaving town is always the nuclear option for NFL owners seeking a new deal.
But Dolphins CEO Mike Dee suggested the team might be willing to move just up Interstate 95 if need be.
With the bruises still showing from their political fight for public money to upgrade Sun Life Stadium, the Dolphins might be thinking Palm Beach County is a better deal, according to Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald.
Asked directly if they’d consider moving two counties to the north from their Dade County base if a stadium was built for them there, Dee replied: “We’re open minded to all long-term solutions,” Dee responded.
“You can’t close the door on anything,” Dee said. “I wouldn’t say it’s a priority to evaluate that and march down that road at this time, by any means, but the simple fact is we have to address a long-term issue with the venue.
“All ideas – good, bad, indifferent – should be considered.”
And all leverage — good, bad, indifferent — will be applied, after the Dolphins lost their bid for a referendum for public funding.
Dolphins owner Stephen Ross has a home in Palm Beach, so his pledge to keep the team in town might have a broader geographic implication.
“What we said the other day was that the future of this venue is certainly uncertain,” Dee said. “At this point, there’s no Plan B that includes another venue. But down the road, who knows?”
At the moment, the Dolphins are kind of stuck. They’re not getting public money, and they’re not apparently inclined to foot the bill for the work they need themselves. That means the future of Super Bowls in South Florida appears bleak, until they find a home.
But if they find a way for another municipality in the same region to make it happen for them, they’re apparently interested.