Terrence Pegula Biography, Age, Wife, Kids, Net Worth, Investments
Buffalo Sabres
On February 18, 2011, he purchased Hockey Western New York LLC (the holding company that owns the Buffalo Sabres and the Buffalo Bandits of the National Lacrosse League) from previous owners Tom Golisano, Larry Quinn, and Dan DiPofi for $189 million.
Pegula’s purchase made an immediate positive impact, with players, fans and alumni invigorated by his investment in the team, the then First Niagara Center and the building of HarborCenter across the street. Pegula was quoted as saying, “Starting today, the Buffalo Sabres’ reason for existence, will be to win a Stanley Cup.”
Buffalo Bandits
Included in the Sabres purchase was their National Lacrosse League counterpart, the Buffalo Bandits which have won four NLL championships.
Rochester Americans
In May 2011, Pegula began negotiations on behalf of the Sabres to re-purchase the Rochester Americans, which had served as the Sabres’ American Hockey League affiliate from 1979 to 2008 (and had been owned by the Sabres from 1979 to 1996); the deal was completed in late June 2011.
As part of the deal, the Americans had to be split off from its NLL counterpart the Rochester Knighthawks since Pegula owned the Bandits due to ownership rules at the time. Along with the purchase of the Americans came upgrades to the team’s arena, the Blue Cross Arena.
Buffalo Bills
On September 9, 2014, Pegula announced the winning binding bid to purchase the National Football League’s Buffalo Bills, a team that was placed up for sale after the death of the original owner and team founder, Ralph Wilson.
Pegula was a favorite among most local Bills fans and local politicians to buy the team due to his commitment to the Western New York area and local connections.
He competed against future U.S. President Donald Trump and musician Jon Bon Jovi, the latter of whom was backed by principals of the Toronto-based Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment for the team. It was reported that the Pegulas made a $1.4 billion bid, all in cash.
On September 17, 2014, the Pegulas were unanimously approved by the NFL’s finance committee and were then scheduled to be presented at the NFL owners’ meeting on October 8, 2014, for final owner approval; the Pegulas received unanimous approval from the league’s owners on October 8 and closed the deal on October 10.
Pegula’s first major order of business was to end the Bills Toronto Series, which he did in an agreement reached on December 3, 2014. Upon the purchase of the Bills, Pegula and his wife Kim introduced One Buffalo, a marketing campaign which has since evolved into a brand used across all of their sports teams and associated products.
Buffalo Beauts
On December 21, 2017, it was announced that Pegula had acquired the Buffalo Beauts of the National Women’s Hockey League. This made the Beauts the first NWHL team not owned by the league, the first professional women’s hockey team in North America owned by the same person that owned the market’s NHL team and got Pegula into women’s hockey.
Rochester Knighthawks
In 2018, Pegula reached an agreement to purchase the intellectual property of the Rochester Knighthawks of the National Lacrosse League in autumn 2019. Rochester Sports Group owner Curt Styres orchestrated the sale as he planned on moving his staff and roster to a new Halifax NLL team set to debut in the winter of 2020.
