Dean Michaels

The Miami Dolphins long-term future in South Florida may be in jeopardy after the Florida Legislature rejected funding for the team's home at Sun Life Stadium.

Dolphins CEO Mike Dee had been hoping for the state to chip in on stadium improvements and said team management won't foot the bill entirely.

He said owner Stephen Ross, 73, has no immediate plans to sell the team, but that a future owner or ownership group would be dealing with the headaches of a stadium that's seen its best days.

"We cannot do this without a private-public partnership," Dee told WFOR-TV in Miami. "At this time we have no intention of investing more."

Miami could also suffer a serious setback in its battles with Santa Clara and Houston to host an upcoming Super Bowl.

"We clearly have our work cut out for us," Dee added. "Having a stadium that's competitive is probably comparable to having a good quarterback when you're playing football. You can win without one, but it's hard to win regularly, and it's hard to beat a team that's got a good quarterback. And in this case we're playing a community [Santa Clara] that has a great quarterback, a brand-new stadium. Houston has a new stadium that's been renovated, so we're going to have to work hard."

Sun Life Stadium is 26 years old, and Ross was reportedly willing to pick up 70 percent of the $400 million in renovations he was seeking. That keft about $90 million the state is apparently unwilling to invest.

Orlando, Jacksonville and Daytona International Speedway all lost out in that they currently can't compete for state tax dollars/incentives, either.

Florida Legislature Rejects Funding for Sun Life Stadium Renovations