NFL commissioner Roger Goodell: We want Dolphins to remain in Miami

Dolphins relocation rumors have ramped up since a stadium bill failed last week, but NFL commissioner Roger Goodell says he wants the team to stay in Miami.

BY ADAM H. BEASLEY

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who lobbied on behalf of the failed Sun Life Stadium renovation deal in Tallahassee, told NFL.com late Thursday that he wants the Dolphins to “stay in Miami.”

“We want to see them stay in a facility that will allow them to compete, and to bring in other big events, including Super Bowls,” Goodell told the website. “And that takes work, it takes investment, and [Stephen] Ross was doing the investing and was really the guy who was putting his heart and soul into this and his passion into this. And that’s what’s frustrating is that it didn’t get a chance to get to the voters.”

Goodell added: “Of course we will stay involved, we will do whatever is necessary because we do think it’s right for all of Florida. We think it’s particularly good for the Miami-Dade area. It will help attract bigger events, and that will have a real economic impact on the community.”

Talk of a possible Dolphins relocation has ramped up after the stadium bill died in the Florida House on May 3. Ross, the Dolphins’ owner, has pledged not to move the team out of South Florida, even with the legislative loss. However, there’s no assurance the team will remain in the area whenever it is he sells the franchise.

Miami-Dade and Broward counties have both said no to public funding, in varying degrees, in recent years. But Palm Beach County could be Plan C.

Dolphins CEO Mike Dee was asked directly Thursday if the team would consider relocating to Palm Beach if a stadium was built for them there. “We’re open minded to all long-term solutions,” he said.

The Palm Beach Post reported that the team might already have potential stadium locations in mind. Citing a “high-ranking team source,” the report says the Dolphins would consider spots in western Delray Beach or Boynton Beach.

• Former Dolphins linebacker Karlos Dansby signed a one-year deal Friday with the Arizona Cardinals, the team Dansby left in 2010 to join Miami. The Dolphins released Dansby in March as they revamped the linebacking corps by adding Dannell Ellerbe and Philip Wheeler in free agency.

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