Although it’s been a mere formality for around a month, Wednesday October 8, 2014 just became arguably the most important and celebrated date in the history of Buffalo sports.  As expected, Terry and Tim Pegula have been unanimously approved by the NFL owners at their meeting in New York City to become the next owners of the Buffalo Bills.

The lone remaining hurdle in the Pegulas taking over is the small matter of a $1.4 billion wire transfer, which will take place within the next couple of days.

The Pegula bid was selected by the Bills trust over Donald Trump and a Toronto-based group led by Jon Bon Jovi.

Terry and Kim arrived at the owners meeting this morning at around 8:30 a.m. and less than 15 minutes later the vote had been ratified, with several media members reporting a loud round of applause that could be heard within the room.

Following a break in the meetings, Terry Pegula briefly spoke publicly (2:06 to be exact) while only taking a few quick questions.

"If you'd told me ten years ago I'd own the Sabres and the Bills I'd call you a liar." Pegula said.

When asked if he thought he got a good deal in purchasing the team for $1.4 billion, Pegula responded by saying "I got a hell of a deal. I own the team.''

A more detailed oriented press conference with the Pegulas that will include questions from the media is expected to take place Friday in Orchard Park.

Before Terry spoke, current and perhaps future ex-Bills CFO Jeff Littman met with a throng of reporters inside the Conrad Hotel following the meetings and as first reported by Tim Graham of the Buffalo News, gave a brief rare statement that said:

"The trustees of the foundation have been working in a linear mode.” Littman said. “We've been going step by step through the process."The first mission was to identify successor owners for the Buffalo Bills franchise, which we have done here today with Kim and Terry Pegula. So check that box The second step in that process, which of course happened today, was to secure ownership approval of their entry into the league. We've checked that box. The third step is to proceed on to closing, and we think that will be done in a very quick and easy way. They have been absolutely wonderful to work with, and everything has been first-class through the process. So we think this will go swiftly, and we will check that box and be on our way.”

"Once all of that is complete, our focus for the interim time after that is going to be to do whatever we can do and whatever they'd like us to do to help ensure a very smooth transition for all of our people back at One Bills Drive and for all of our fans in Western New York. Once that's done, we will be turning our attention -- we've, of course, done some pre-planning work -- to the future and the mission of the Ralph Wilson Foundation, and we won't have anything further to say until we've done that and gotten on to that work. But we look forward to someday giving you a full report on what our intentions are and what are plans are going forward."

In a released statement, former Bills Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly expressed happiness that the franchise will remain in Western New York.

“I am so happy to hear that the Pegulas will be the new owners of the Buffalo Bills,” Kelly said. “It’s an exciting day for Western New York. As I’ve said for many years, my first and foremost concern has been ensuring that, when the time came, the team would stay in Buffalo. Terry and Kim Pegula have done a lot for our community; their commitment to Buffalo and Western New York is second to none.”

It’s widely expected the Pegula-led Bills era will formally begin on Sunday when the two are inside Ralph Wilson Stadium as Buffalo hosts the New England Patriots in a battle for first place in the AFC East.

The atmosphere will be electrifying to say the least.

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