So This Is Pretty BIG News....Fish For Sale

[SoFlaJets]

Huizenga trying to sell Dolphins

Wayne Huizenga is so disappointed with the Dolphins' performance that he is talking to two real-estate developers about selling the franchise for more than $1 billion.

BY JEFF DARLINGTON, ARMANDO SALGUERO, BARRY JACKSON AND MATTHEW HAGGMAN

Growing increasingly frustrated by the team's winless state, Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga is in talks about selling the team and Dolphin Stadium to a pair of major real-estate developers, Jorge Perez and Stephen Ross.

The surprise development comes 13 games into the worst season in the Dolphins' proud history. Huizenga's asking price is between $1.1 billion and $1.2 billion, a high-level source has told The Miami Herald.

Although Huizenga declined to comment, Perez, a Miami developer, confirmed Friday that he and Ross are in discussions with Huizenga about the potential purchase.

''We are looking at it very, very seriously,'' said Perez, chairman and CEO of The Related Group, one of the biggest condominium builders in the country.

Perez and Ross have met multiple times with Huizenga -- including last weekend.

Days earlier, Ross, a New York builder and business partner of Perez, had denied speaking with Huizenga about buying the team, stating he was not interested ''at this point'' in purchasing an NFL organization.

A successful deal could take as long as a month, and Ross is expected to be a bigger investor than Perez if they purchase the team.

Huizenga has spoken to several confidants outside of the organization, voicing his frustrations while even naming Ross as a potential buyer.

Sources within the organization also are aware of Huizenga's growing discontent and potential desire to sell the team. Huizenga has in the past said the Dolphins are not for sale, but always added the caveat that he would consider any serious offer.

Perhaps that's part of the reason several figures in the organization weren't shocked when they learned of the news Friday.

''I'm not surprised,'' former Dolphins tight end Jim Mandich said. ``It has been joyless for Wayne recently. Nobody has worked harder to put a successful team on the field, but every move seems to be an exploding cigar.''

OTHER ATTEMPTS

Ross has been involved with sports before (he was a minority partner in the NHL's New York Islanders), but several of his attempts to dig deeper into athletics never materialized.

In 1990, Ross was also part of a group of investors that was interested in bringing baseball to Miami, a feat that was instead accomplished by Huizenga. Before Huizenga was awarded the team, Abel Holtz -- who was in the chase for a South Florida baseball team -- had Ross on board in a group worth an estimated $500 million that was also challenging for the expansion rights.

More recently, Ross was part of a team of bidders for the Oakland Athletics in 2004, when Reggie Jackson unsuccessfully attempted to buy the team.

Now, it appears Ross is back in the hunt to get into sports -- and his latest effort appears on track to be more successful as he might have found a willing seller in Huizenga.

$100 MILLION GIFT

A graduate of the University of Michigan, Ross donated $100 million to the school in 2004, the largest donation in the institution's long history. The university's business school now bears his name. Ross is married with four children.

Perez also attended Michigan, where he earned a master's in urban planning. He and Ross became close friends and eventually in 1979 founded The Related Group in Miami.

Perez's ties to Miami are much more prevalent. He is among the biggest condominium developers in the U.S. In downtown Miami alone, the builder is responsible for a dozen condo towers either recently completed or under construction.

He is a member of the University of Miami's Board of Trustees and sits on the board of the Miami Art Museum.

If a deal is completed, Perez would rank among the most prominent Hispanic owners of a U.S. sports team. Perez was born to Cuban parents in Buenos Aires.

Forbes magazine this year valued the Dolphins at $942 million, with a revenue stream of approximately $215 million. The valuation makes the Dolphins the 15th-priciest NFL franchise. The Dallas Cowboys, by comparison, were the highest valued at $1.5 billion. The Minnesota Vikings were the lowest at $782 million.

STADIUM INCLUDED

The Dolphins' organization and Dolphin Stadium would be offered as a package deal if a sale happens. Huizenga purchased the team from the Robbie family in 1994 for $138 million.

It is interesting that Huizenga has entered into such negotiations about selling despite his recent commitment to spend approximately $250 million to upgrade Dolphin Stadium, with the final phase of that upgrade to be completed by 2009.

When Huizenga initially agreed to purchase the team, he needed to wait more than three years before officially becoming the team's owner because of the league's cross-ownership policy, which was altered in 1997 to allow controlling interest in other sports.

When he purchased the NFL team, he also owned the Marlins and the Panthers, which he brought to South Florida. He has since sold his interests in both the baseball and hockey organizations.

Miami Herald staff writers Pete Pelegrin and Michelle Kaufman contributed to this report

[Irish Jet]

He wants to sell the Dolphins???

I think he should be paying the poor sould that'll take 'em.

[RSJ]

I can give them a team incapable of winning an NFL game for a case of beer.

[Jetscode1]

Here's to hoping he stays...