Latest news with #Leiweke
Vancouver Sun
10-07-2025
- Business
- Vancouver Sun
Ex-head of MLSE Tim Leiweke indicted in U.S. arena bid-rigging scheme
WASHINGTON — Former chief executive officer and president of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Tim Leiweke has been indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice for allegedly orchestrating a conspiracy to rig the bidding process for an arena at a public university in Austin, Texas. It was announced later Wednesday that Leiweke would step down as CEO of Oak View Group, a sports and real estate company he co-founded. He will transition to vice-chairman of OVG's board of directors and remain a shareholder of the company. 'It has been my great honour to help found and lead OVG as it has grown into the special, customer-oriented company it is today,' Leiweke said in a statement. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. The board has appointed Chris Granger, president of OVG360, to serve as interim CEO. 'I am honoured to serve in this role and am looking forward to working with our deep roster of leaders and talented team as we deliver on our mission to provide the best possible service and outcome for our customers and partners,' said Granger. Leiweke is charged with a violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act, facing a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a US$1-million fine. According to the DOJ, Leiweke told colleagues a rival company was 'bidding against us' and expressed a desire to 'get them to back down' — a goal he later achieved through a 2018 agreement under which the competitor didn't submit a bid and instead received subcontracts, leaving OVG as the lone qualified bidder. None of the allegations have been proven in court. The project became the Moody Center, home to University of Texas basketball, and opened to the public in April 2022. OVG continues to receive significant revenues from the venue. OVG and Legends Hospitality have agreed to pay $15 million and $1.5 million in penalties, respectively, related to the conduct outlined in the indictment. In a statement that did not mention Leiweke, OVG said it 'co-operated fully with the Antitrust Division's inquiry' and was 'pleased to have resolved this matter with no charges filed against OVG and no admission of fault or wrongdoing.' Leiweke also said he was pleased that OVG resolved its DOJ inquiry without any charges filed or admission of wrongdoing. 'The last thing I want to do is distract from the accomplishments of the team or draw focus away from executing for our partners, so the board and I decided that now is the right time to implement the succession plan that was already underway and transition out of the CEO role,' he said in his written statement. 'In my new role as vice chairman of the board and as an OVG shareholder, I remain as committed as ever to the long-term success of the company, and I know OVG, our valued partners, and our customers are in great hands with Chris and the rest of our stellar leaders.' Leiweke was head of MLSE from 2013 to 2015 before moving on to OVG. The company operates dozens of venues across North America, including Seattle's Climate Pledge Arena, London, Ont.'s Canada Life Place and Hamilton's recently renovated TD Coliseum. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here .
NBC Sports
10-07-2025
- Business
- NBC Sports
Jerry Jones's Legends Hospitality will pay $1.5 million penalty for antitrust violation
The headline? Long-time sports executive Tim Leiweke (older brother of former NFL COO Tod Leiweke) has been indicted on federal bid-rigging charges. Something far more interesting, and potentially far more relevant to the NFL, lurks beneath the top-line news. Tim Leiweke served, until Wednesday, as the CEO of Oak View Group. He resigned due to a problem arising from the construction of the Moody Center at the University of Texas. OVG led the financing and oversaw the development of the arena. Along the way, OVG and Legends Hospitality — founded by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and the New York Yankees — allegedly committed antitrust violations by (wait for it) colluding. (Sixth Street Partners purchased a controlling interest in Legends four years ago; Jones still owns a piece of the company.) Leiweke allegedly entered into an agreement with Legends to drop its bid to oversee the construction of the arena in exchange for 'lucrative subcontracts.' Leweike then allegedly reneged on the subcontracts. CNBC reports that Legends is expected to pay a $1.5 million penalty for its involvement in the alleged scheme. OVG is expected to pay $15 million. And Leiweke will face an eventual trial, barring a dismissal of the charges or a deal of his own. Leiweke, in a statement issued to Sports Business Journal, says he did nothing wrong. He calls the arrangement with Legends a 'vertical, complementary business partnership' that fully complies with the law. The development comes at a time when the NFL Players Association has secured an arbitration finding that the NFL's Management Council, with the blessing of Commissioner Roger Goodell, urged teams to collude regarding guaranteed contracts for NFL players. As a source familiar with the NFLPA's operations told PFT after it became clear that the NFLPA had hidden the ruling for months, 'a properly functioning union would alert the [Department of Justice's] antitrust division' about the behavior — with the obvious goal of getting the DOJ to investigate whether and to what extent the NFL has engaged (and/or is engaging) in other antitrust violations. Now that it's come to light that the league tried to collude as to player guarantees, maybe an ambitious AUSA will take a closer look at whether supposedly competing businesses have been doing a little colluding (or a lot) in violation of the federal antitrust laws. The fact that the DOJ is currently run by a president who has vowed regarding NFL owners to 'get them all back' won't make that possibility any less likely.
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
CEO of Oak View Group, which operates Tanger Center & First Horizon Coliseum, indicted for bid rigging in Texas
(WGHP) — The CEO of an entertainment company has been indicted for allegedly rigging bids for an arena at a public university in Texas. According to the Department of Justice, Timothy J. Leiweke, the Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Oak View Group, has been indicted for 'orchestrating a conspiracy to rig the bidding process for an arena at a public university in Austin, Texas.' OVG 'develops and provides a variety of services to live entertainment venues,' including running the Steven Tanger Center and the 'Greensboro Complex,' a cluster of event venues once known as Greensboro Coliseum. OVG took over the venues last year, taking over from the city of Greensboro, which had previously operated the venues. The indictment alleges that from February 2018 through at least June 2024, Leiweke conspired with a competitor's CEO 'to rig the bidding for the development, management, and use of a multi-purpose arena that was to be located on the campus of a public university in Austin, Texas.' 'Timothy Leiweke allegedly led a scheme designed to steer the contract for entertainment services at a public university's arena to his company. Public contracts are subject to laws requiring an open and competitive bid process to ensure a level playing field,' said Assistant Director in Charge Christopher G. Raia of the FBI New York Field Office. 'The FBI is determined to ensure that those who disregard fair competition principles do not benefit from a rigged bidding process targeting our communities and public institutions.' Leiweke allegedly convinced the CEO of the competitor not to put in a bid on the project in exchange for subcontracts. As a result, OVG was the only qualified bid and won the project. 'The arena opened to the public in April 2022, and OVG continues to receive significant revenues from the project to date,' the DOJ says. 'OVG and Legends Hospitality have agreed to pay $15 million and $1.5 million in penalties, respectively, in connection with the conduct alleged in the indictment against Leiweke.' A spokesperson for Leiweke provided the following statement, as well: Mr. Leiweke has done nothing wrong and will vigorously defend himself and his well-deserved reputation for fairness and integrity. The Antitrust Division's allegations are wrong on the law and the facts, and the case should never have been brought. The law is clear: vertical, complementary business partnerships, like the one contemplated between OVG and Legends, are legal. These allegations blatantly ignore established legal precedent and seek to criminalize common teaming efforts that are proven to enhance competition and benefit the public. The Moody Center is a perfect example, as it has resulted in substantial and sustained benefits to the University of Texas and the City of Austin. Leiweke is charged with a violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act. He faces up to 10 years in prison and $1 million in criminal fines. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
NBC News
09-07-2025
- Business
- NBC News
Sports executive charged with bid rigging in Texas arena project
Oak View Group CEO Tim Leiweke was indicted on a federal criminal conspiracy charge related to allegedly rigging a bid to develop, manage, and operate the University of Texas ' basketball and entertainment arena in Austin, the Department of Justice said Wednesday. Oak View Group, which will pay $15 million in penalties in connection with the allegations, later Wednesday said that Leiweke 'will transition from the position of CEO to' vice chairman of the entertainment venue giant's board of directors, and remain a shareholder. Leiweke, 68, is accused in the indictment of conspiring with another would-be bidder on UT's $338 million Moody Center arena project to induce that second company in February 2018 to drop out of the competition with Oak View Group in exchange for receiving lucrative subcontracts at the 15,000-seat arena. CNBC has been told the second company was Legends Hospitality, a New York-based venue services company that is majority-owned by Sixth Street Partners, and whose minority owners include the New York Yankees and the Dallas Cowboys. The indictment in U.S. District Court in Austin says that Leiweke later reneged on that promise to the second company after it dropped its effort to bid on the entire project. 'The arena opened to the public in April 2022, and OVG continues to receive significant revenues from the project to date,' the Department of Justice said Wednesday. Leiweke 'rigged a bidding process to benefit his own company and deprived a public university and taxpayers of the benefits of competitive bidding,' said Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater of the DOJ's Antitrust Division, in a statement. Leweike, in a 2022 interview with CNBC, said that the Moody Center was one of his company's 'two most successful arenas.' The DOJ also said Wednesday that Oak View Group and Legends agreed to pay $15 million and $1.5 million, respectively, in penalties 'in connection with the conduct alleged in the indictment against Leiweke.' Oak View Group's website says that the company manages 400 sports, entertainment and other venues. Lewieke, who is charged with one count of conspiracy to restrain trade, is the former CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. Before that, he served as CEO of Anschutz Entertainment Group. A spokesman for Leiweke, in a statement to CNBC, said, 'Mr. Leiweke has done nothing wrong and will vigorously defend himself and his well-deserved reputation for fairness and integrity.' 'The Antitrust Division's allegations are wrong on the law and the facts, and the case should never have been brought,' the spokesman said. 'The law is clear: vertical, complementary business partnerships, like the one contemplated between OVG and Legends, are legal.' 'These allegations blatantly ignore established legal precedent and seek to criminalize common teaming efforts that are proven to enhance competition and benefit the public. The Moody Center is a perfect example, as it has resulted in substantial and sustained benefits to the University of Texas and the City of Austin.' Leiweke, in his own statement, said, 'While I'm pleased the company has resolved its Department of Justice Antitrust Division inquiry without any charges filed or admission of wrongdoing, the last thing I want to do is distract from the accomplishments of the team or draw focus away from executing for our partners, so the Board and I decided that now is the right time to implement the succession plan that was already underway and transition out of the CEO role. Oak View Group, in a statement, said, '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.' 'We support all efforts to ensure a fair and competitive environment in our industry and are committed to upholding industry-leading compliance and disclosure practices,' Oak View Group said. CNBC has requested comment from Legends. Chris Granger, who was president of Oak View Group's division OVG360, has been appointed as interim CEO of Oak View Group by the company's board. Granger previously was group president for sports and entertainment of the Detroit Tigers and Detroit Red Wings, and president and chief operating officer of the Sacramento Kings.
Hamilton Spectator
09-07-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Ex-MLSE boss Tim Leiweke indicted in U.S. arena bid-rigging scheme
WASHINGTON - Former CEO and president of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Tim Leiweke has been indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice for allegedly orchestrating a conspiracy to rig the bidding process for an arena at a public university in Austin, Texas. Leiweke is charged with a violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act, facing a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a US$1 million fine. Oak View Group (OVG) and Legends Hospitality have agreed to pay $15 million and $1.5 million in penalties, respectively, related to the conduct outlined in the indictment. Leiweke was head of MLSE from 2013 to 2015 before moving on to Oak View Group. The company operates dozens of venues across North America, including Seattle's Climate Pledge Arena, London, Ont.'s Canada Life Place and Hamilton's recently renovated TD Coliseum. According to the DOJ, Leiweke told colleagues a rival company was 'bidding against us' and expressed a desire to 'get them to back down' — a goal he later achieved through a 2018 agreement under which the competitor didn't submit a bid and instead received subcontracts, leaving OVG as the lone qualified bidder. The project became the Moody Center, home to University of Texas basketball, and opened to the public in April 2022. OVG continues to receive significant revenues from the venue. None of the allegations have been proven in court. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 9, 2025.
