Dolphins CEO Mike Dee told reporters today that he's "open" to the idea of moving the team to Palm Beach County. Which seems ridiculous on so many levels, but threatening to move the team when you're looking for a public handout is the oldest trick in the book. So it's really not surprising.
According to the Miami Herald, Dee was talking briefly with reporters today when he was asked if he'd move the team an hour up north if PBC wanted to build the team a new stadium:
"We're open-minded to all long-term solutions," Dee responded.He later said: "You can't close the door on anything. 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."
Of course, it's unclear why any one would ask him about Palm Beach County in particular.
No one in Palm Beach has offered to build the team a brand new state-of-the-art stadium, and modern NFL stadiums don't come cheap. The last two built cost over $1 billion.
It's unlikely PBC is willing to finance construction on its own, and if the Dolphins couldn't get Tallahassee to bite on their plans to renovate the current stadium, it's unlikely they'd get the legislature there to help foot the bill for a PBC stadium either. And owner Stephen Ross certainly isn't going to pay for it by himself.
So we doubt this is a serious threat, but it was fun imagining the team in Lilly Pulitzer-designed uniforms for a second. And, hey, at least they're not threatening to move to Fort Lauderdale.
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