Legends is stepping deeper into the Western New York sports market.
Meanwhile, the Pegula family and their longtime and now former business partner and executive are taking another step away from each other.
Pegula Sports and Entertainment confirmed Friday that the Pegula family, which was majority owner of ADPRO Sports, has sold the company to the consulting group Legends, which is already a major player in the future Buffalo Bills stadium 鈥 leading the sales of sponsorships and personal seat licenses.
ADPRO, a Cheektowaga-based company that sells branded and licensed merchandise and apparel, was founded by Ron Raccuia, who was also the Bills鈥 executive vice president and chief operating officer until parting ways with the team Wednesday.
Raccuia sold a majority share of ADPRO to Kim Pegula and her three children, Jessica, Kelly and Matthew, in 2017. He remained a minority shareholder and president of the company, and with the acquisition by Legends, is leaving ADPRO.
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In a statement provided to The News on Friday afternoon, PSE said: 鈥淲e are pleased to confirm that Legends has completed their purchase of ADPRO Sports earlier this week. We have had an ongoing partnership with Legends for the Bills new stadium project over the last several months. And even though this sale is separate of the stadium agreement, Legends was impressed with our team and facility and has maintained that they will continue to invest and operate out of Western New York.鈥
With the acquisition, Legends鈥 presence in Western New York will include its work on the Bills stadium, its contract to become the food and beverage provider at the future Highmark Stadium, and now, the operation of ADPRO, which reported revenues of $28.71 million in 2021, according to Buffalo Business First.
Legends has more than 100 employees working on the stadium project, and ADPRO has a team of approximately 90 in Western New York. Between now and 2026, when new Highmark Stadium is scheduled to open, Legends鈥 hospitality division will also build out a staff of about 30 executives and 2,000-plus gameday workers. Many, perhaps most, of those gameday staffers will transition from the current and longtime food and beverage provider, Delaware North, a Buffalo-based company that was a finalist for the new-stadium contract but ultimately lost the bid to Legends.
The Bills鈥 team store at the current Highmark Stadium is also run by Legends, which took over the retail space from Delaware North in spring.
In a statement, Kirta Carroll, the president of Legends Global Merchandise, said: 鈥淟egends merchandise business has experienced tremendous growth over the past few years, delivering e-commerce, in-venue retail, large-scale live events, and brick-and-mortar store operations for our partners globally. The acquisition of ADPRO Sports and the addition of their Western New York production facility will accelerate our licensing and wholesale business and expand our in-house production capabilities, better positioning us to deliver an expanded assortment of first-class merchandise products for our partners and their fans.鈥
Raccuia has not commented on his departure from the Bills other than a brief statement issued Thursday.
鈥淔or the past several years I have been honored to work for the Pegula family and to serve as their business partner and lead executive on the new stadium project,鈥 the statement said. 鈥淥ur work together has been gratifying and I am so proud of all that we have accomplished throughout the organizations. The time has come for new professional challenges and I鈥檓 excited for what the future holds.
鈥淎s a lifelong Buffalo resident, to work alongside the men and women at the Bills, Sabres and PSE has been a blessing. My family and I would like to personally thank the entire community for all the love and support they have shown us.鈥
A source told The News that Raccuia鈥檚 departure from his Bills executive role is unrelated to the sale of ADPRO, which provided the initial basis for his relationship with Kim and Terry Pegula. In the months after the couple bought the Buffalo Sabres in 2011, Raccuia met with Kim Pegula in the Buffalo Sabres鈥 offices to show her samples of branded clothing that ADPRO could provide for the hockey team鈥檚 upcoming European trip. He met Terry Pegula later that year.
鈥淎ll relationships start at the personal level, and when the Pegulas first got here, my family and our businesses developed really good professional and personal relationships,鈥 Raccuia told The News in a story published last April.
In the years that followed, both ADPRO and the Pegulas鈥 presence in Buffalo grew. As ADPRO expanded its business, it purchased the naming rights for the Buffalo Bills training center in June 2014. (A team official told The News on Friday that the name of the ADPRO Sports Training Center isn鈥檛 imminently changing.) In September 2014, the Pegulas submitted the winning bid to purchase the Bills from the family of the team鈥檚 late founder, Ralph Wilson Jr.
In 2017, Kim Pegula and her children bought a majority stake in ADPRO while Raccuia retained the title of president and, with his partners, a minority stake.
Raccuia also joined the Bills as an executive in 2017, and when Kim Pegula took over the team presidency the next year, he became one of her top lieutenants. When negotiations with New York state and Erie County for a new stadium in Orchard Park began in earnest in mid-2021, Raccuia was the point person for the Bills. A year later, when Kim Pegula entered a long recovery period after suffering cardiac arrest in June 2022, Raccuia essentially took over operations of the team.
When ground was broken on the future Highmark Stadium, which is located across the street from the Bills鈥 current home in Orchard Park, Raccuia was one of the speakers onstage. The other were political and football heavyweights: Terry Pegula, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, Gov. Kathy Hochul and Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz.
Now, as Terry Pegula takes over as team president and Sabres executive John Roth expands his role to fill Raccuia鈥檚 former position, the sale of ADPRO seems to fully signal the end of the Raccuia-Pegula partnership.
鈥淥ne of Ron鈥檚 legacies will be his leadership with making the new stadium a reality,鈥 former New York Lieutenant Gov. Bob Duffy said in a text to The News on Friday evening.
Duffy, who is CEO of the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce and chair of Empire State Development鈥檚 Erie County Stadium Corp., described Raccuia as 鈥渢errific to work with鈥 and 鈥渢he consummate professional.鈥
He added, 鈥淭he new Buffalo Bills stadium will be a world class facility befitting a world class team/organization... I wish Ron and his family the very best as he embarks on his next successful chapter.鈥