Feb. 22 (Bloomberg) -- New York real estate developer Stephen M. Ross bought half of the Miami Dolphins and related properties from team owner Wayne Huizenga.

Ross, the chairman of New York-based Related Cos., will be a 50 percent partner in the National Football League franchise, its stadium and surrounding developable land, the team said in a news release. Huizenga will remain managing general partner.

Financial terms of the sale, which requires league approval, weren't disclosed in the release. The Miami Herald reported in December that Huizenga was seeking between $1.1 billion and $1.2 billion for the entire team.

``I have always said that I wanted to bring in a partner and I can't think of anyone more appropriate than Steve,'' Huizenga said in the release. ``He has unbridled enthusiasm and I couldn't feel better about the future than I do with Steve as my partner and Bill Parcells running football operations.''

The Dolphins won just one of 16 games in the 2007 season and began an offseason makeover by hiring Super Bowl-winning coach Parcells to run football operations, reporting directly to Huizenga.

Ross was listed by Forbes magazine in September as the 68th wealthiest person in the U.S., with a net worth of $4.5 billion. Huizenga was 165th at $2.5 billion.

Started Company in 1972

The 67-year-old Ross is the founder of Related Cos., a closely held real estate development company that owns the Time Warner Center in Manhattan. He started the company in 1972 as Related Housing Cos.

In December, the company received $1.4 billion from investors, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., and the government of Abu Dhabi.

Related is among five groups competing for the development rights to the West Side Rail Yards, a parcel near the Hudson River in midtown Manhattan where the New York Jets in 2005 tried to build a stadium. It also has formed a partnership with Vornado Realty Trust to redevelop the Pennsylvania Station area, a plan that includes a new rail station, a new Madison Square Garden and 5.4 million square feet of new office towers.

Ross is also the chairman of Centerline Holding Co., a New York-based lender and investor in affordable housing.

To contact the reporter on this story: Aaron Kuriloff in New York at akuriloff@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 22, 2008 16:44 EST