Ex-MLSE boss Tim Leiweke Indicted by U.S. in Texas arena bid-rigging probe
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Leiweke's company, Oak View Group LLC, is entering into a non-prosecution agreement with the department and will pay a fine of $15 million. Oak View rival Legends also entered into a non-prosecution agreement with the US and will pay a $1.5 million fine over the matter.
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The cases relate to allegations that Oak View illegally coordinated with Legends on the bidding to develop and operate the Moody Center, a $338 million arena at the University of Texas in Austin. Oak View ultimately won the contract in 2018 and the venue opened in 2022.
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A spokesperson for Leiweke said in a statement that he said he had done nothing wrong and that the case shouldn't have been brought. Leiweke 'will vigorously defend himself and his well-deserved reputation for fairness and integrity,' according to the statement.
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'Oak View Group cooperated fully with the Antitrust Division's inquiry and is pleased to have resolved this matter with no charges filed against OVG and no admission of fault or wrongdoing,' the company said in a statement.
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Legends did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Leiweke 'rigged a bidding process to benefit his own company and deprived a public university and taxpayers of the benefits of competitive bidding,' Justice Department antitrust chief Gail Slater in a statement.
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Oak View, which lists Leiweke as chief executive on its website, was not named in his indictment. Instead it referred to Leiweke as co-founder and CEO of 'Co-Conspirator Company-1.' Legends was also not named in the indictment.
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Leiweke became the president and CEO of Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment MLSE on April 2013 and served in the role until Oct. 2015.
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Leiweke's indictment was not viewable on the public court docket but was shared by the Justice Department.
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The government has stepped-up scrutiny of the live music and entertainment industry, which includes an executive order from the White House aimed at rooting out illegal conduct in the ticketing market. The charge against Leiweke is the first high-profile criminal antitrust case of the Trump Administration, which has pledged to continue former President Joe Biden's crackdown on anticompetitive conduct across the economy.
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