Yorkshire County Cricket Club now own their own ground for the first time in the club's 142-year history.
The deal to buy Headingley for £12million was clinched when an agreement was finally reached between Yorkshire and ground owners Leeds Cricket, Football and Athletic Company.
Legal representatives of both parties worked tremendously hard last week to get everything sorted out by the January 31, 2005 deadline.
The England and Wales Cricket Board had insisted that Yorkshire must own Headingley by New Year's Day, otherwise they would take Test cricket away from the venue.
Leeds CFAC have now received £9m from Yorkshire - the amount of the loan from Leeds City Council - and the remaining £3m will be paid at some future stage.
Geoff Cope, Yorkshire's director of operation, and Gary Hetherington, Leeds CFAC's chief executive, both expressed delight that the deal had been completed.
"It is a truly historic day and I would like to thank Leeds CFAC chairman Paul Caddick for making it possible for us to own our own ground," said Cope.
Yorkshire still do not own the hotel at Headingley or the floor level of the old winter shed at the Kirkstall Lane end of the ground.
But they hope to be able to buy the latter for £1m in the not too distant future and then build a new pavilion and media centre on the site.
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