MIAMI – The Florida Marlins will look into relocation as early as the 2008 season, after years of unsuccessful attempts to secure a baseball-only stadium in downtown Miami.

Marlins president David Samson said yesterday the team has received permission from the commissioner’s office to investigate its options in other cities. Samson said owner Jeffrey Loria’s primary intention is to keep the team in South Florida, but added that no deal will be struck for a ballpark in Miami.

Las Vegas and Portland, Ore., which both failed to land the Montreal Expos before they moved to Washington a year ago, are likely to try to lure the Marlins. Samson said another possibility is building on land near Dolphins Stadium that is owned by the franchise’s original owner, H. Wayne Huizenga.

“No longer can baseball in South Florida be assured,” Loria said in a statement read by Samson. “It is now clear to us that there will be no baseball stadium in the city of Miami. So we must begin to explore other options.”

The Marlins’ lease with Dolphins Stadium – owned by Huizenga – is in effect until 2007.The team has a series of one-year options that could keep it there through the 2010 season. Samson said the team will not extend its current lease at Dolphins Stadium under any circumstances.

“We simply must play in a baseball only facility,” Samson said.

Samson wouldn’t get into specifics of any trades, but said there would be an immediate “significant market correction” to the team’s payroll, which was $60 million at the start of last season.

The team has lobbied for its own stadium since Huizenga sold the team to John Henry in 1999. The team’s latest ballpark plan, 38,000-seat stadium with a retractable roof that would be built next to Miami’s Orange Bowl, came apart this spring.