The Buffalo Bills broke ground for their new $1.54 billion stadium on Monday, with NFL, state and local officials in attendance.

It was an emotional day outside Orchard Park, where the Bills have played games since 1973. Among the spectators watching the first shovel turn was Mary Wilson, the widow of Bills founder Ralph Wilson.

Teams and officials agreed to a public-private financing plan to keep the Bills at a modern stadium in Orchard Park, across the road from the original Rich Stadium site, now called Highmark Stadium. . The Bills announced Monday that West New York-based insurance company Highmark will be the signature sponsor for the 2026 opening of the new stadium.

The stadium’s funding includes $600 million from the state and $250 million from county funds, with the rest coming from teams.

Bills co-owner Terry Pegula told the crowd it was time to add to the team’s storied history at the new stadium.

“Then let me be clear,” he said. “We are going to build a stadium here, right? there is.”

“We should not forget the past and embrace building the future.”

With tears in her eyes, Pegula said that those who couldn’t be part of the next step in Bills history: his wife and partner Kim, who is battling health issues, and the Buffalo grocery store shooting last year. I shed tears for the 10 victims of the incident. shop.

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, born about an hour south of Jamestown, New York, was one of the dignitaries with a shovel in hand. He said this one held a special place for him among the about 20 groundbreaking ceremonies he attended.

“Nothing means more than being here today. This is an extraordinary community, it deserves an extraordinary stadium, and you will get it…. Western New Yorkers will always I’ve shown my passion for football, the Bills,” he said.

“Now the Bills are secured in western New York, and that’s something we should all be very proud of.”

–Field level media