“So we need to fill this stadium with more memories and continue our legacy. “We’re going to build a stadium here, right? And we’re going to tear down a stadium over there that’s full of memories,” Pegula said. Saying he cheers for her every day, Pegula cited the Bellamy Brothers’ song “You’re My Favorite Star,” by saying, “And Kim, you are my favorite star.”Ī few moments later, Pegula pointed to the team’s existing stadium and then to the stage on where he stood. Pegula then noted to his wife, who was not present and dealing with significant language and memory issues after going into cardiac arrest a year ago. Wiping away tears, Pegula listed the names of 10 Black victims who were killed in a racially motivated shooting at a Buffalo supermarket in May 2022. The most poignant moment of the ceremony came when Pegula grew emotional and paused for 25 seconds before catching his breath. Questions were also raised as to whether it would have been better to bring the Bills back to playing in Buffalo to help revitalize the city’s core rather than remain in suburban Orchard Park. The deal has been questioned, with critics referring to it as corporate welfare in using taxpayer funds to support Pegula, who has a projected net worth of $6.7 billion, and also owns the NHL's Sabres. “This is one of the highlights of my time as your governor to make sure we’d deliver what I said we would do for keeping the Buffalo Bills in Buffalo for at least another generation,” said Hochul, who was dressed in Bills blue and red colors, and even wore sneakers with the team’s logo on them. She said the team’s annual economic impact to the community is $385 million, while saying the construction of the facility will result in 10,000 union jobs. Hochul, who grew up a Bills fan in nearby Hamburg, New York, emphasized the benefits - both financial and psychological to one of the NFL’s smallest markets - that come with keeping the franchise in Buffalo. The new stadium will carry over the naming rights after the Bills announced a long-term deal with Highmark, a health insurance provider, and become the franchise’s third home.Įstablished by Wilson in 1960 as an American Football League franchise, the Bills spent their first 13 seasons playing at War Memorial Stadium in midtown Buffalo. The new facility will replace the Bills current home, Highmark Stadium, which opened in 1973, and was deemed by a state study as being too expensive to renovate. The ground-breaking comes a little more than a month since an agreement between the Bills and state and county governments was approved, and some 14 months after the framework of a deal was agreed to, with taxpayer money set aside in the state budget. They’re going to make a big splash,” she said. Wilson first encountered Terry and his wife, Kim Pegula, when she had input in selling the Bills to them in 2014 for a then-NFL record $1.4 billion following her husband’s death. “Their entire leadership to make this happen, I think Buffalo, they’ve got no idea how great it’s going to be.” “I love what Terry said,” Mary Wilson told The Associated Press afterward.
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