With the effort of attaining a new stadium in Miami seemingly gone, the Florida Marlins have started the process of exploring a move. Marlins president David Samson said Tuesday the team received permission from Major League Baseball to seek relocation. Samson spoke at a news conference and read a statement from team owner Jeffrey Loria. "No longer can baseball in South Florida be assured," the statement said. "It is very clear to us that there will be no baseball stadium in the city of Miami. So we now must begin to explore other options. Therefore, we will expand our search beyond the city of Miami and we will examine other options in the South Florida area as well. "It does not mean the Marlins are necessarily leaving South Florida. It does mean that we seriously need to explore all of our options, including those in other markets." Samson said because of this the team will be engaging discussion with other cities and there is a possibility the team could be moved as early as 2008. Samson said there will be no deal in the city of Miami and the team will not sign an extension to continue playing at Dolphins Stadium. Their lease expires at the end of the 2007 season, although there are one-year options through 2010. Samson added the team was prepared to contribute the fourth-largest financial commitment by a baseball team to a new baseball-only facility. The money would have been up front and through annual rent. "We must now acknowledge that Miami, the gateway to the Americas, could well be the first American city in 35 years to see its baseball franchise leave," Samson said in the statement from Loria. "And people in Washington, D.C. know very well how long it took to get a team back." Because of the stadium issue the Marlins are prepared to dump payroll, namely trading 2003 World Series MVP Josh Beckett and All-Star third baseman Mike Lowell to the Boston Red Sox. The deal, which isn't yet official, would likely bring three prospects to the Marlins. Samson added Loria's commitment to winning will continue, but because of the stadium issue there will be major adjustments. "There will be changes," Samson said. "We will have a payroll, finally, that matches revenues. For now we must focus on the names on the front of the jersey, not the name on the back." The Marlins, who came into existence in 1993, won the World Series in 1997 and 2003, the only two years the team has been to the playoffs. A year after the 1997 season, in which the Marlins won 92 games, the club unloaded several players and had just 54 wins. Portland, Oregon and Las Vegas are two cities that failed to gain a team after the Montreal Expos relocated to the nation's capital. However, Portland and Las Vegas could be in the running again to gain the Marlins' franchise. The Marlins and Miami-Dade County officials had reached a tentative agreement for a new, baseball-only stadium that would have been built next to the Orange Bowl. However, the $420 million retractable-roof stadium project never made it past the Florida Senate. Loria took over the Marlins in 2002, and along with his purchase came the stadium dilemma. The facility the Marlins play in is owned by H. Wayne Huizenga, the original owner of the Marlins and current owner of the Dolphins.