Tim Leiweke faces up to 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine if he’s convicted.
AUSTIN, Texas — A federal grand jury has indicted a major entertainment executive for allegedly rigging the bidding process to develop the Moody Center in Austin.
Timothy Leiweke, the now-former CEO of Denver-based sports and real estate company Oak View Group, is accused of conspiring with a competitor to rig the contract for the $338 million arena that opened in 2022.
According to an indictment from the U.S. Department of Justice, in September 2017, Leiweke told colleagues he had learned another company was “bidding against [Oak View Group]” for the project that would become the Moody Center, and wanted to “find a way to get [the competitor] some of the business” and “get them to back down.”
The indictment says in November 2017, Leiweke told people he was “[m]ore than happy talking to [the competitor] about not bidding and [receiving certain subcontracts]” but had “no interest in working with them if they intend on putting in a bid.” In February 2018, he ultimately reached an agreement with the CEO of the competing company, in exchange for the competitor to neither submit nor join an independent competing bid for the project.
In exchange for the competing company not submitting a bid, Leiweke allegedly allowed the competitor to get subcontracts for the project.
Oak View Group ultimately submitted the only qualified bid for the arena and won the project.
The group has agreed to pay $15 million in penalties, while another company, Legends Hospitality, will pay $1.5 million.
Prior to his time with Oak View Group, Leiweke served as CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment – which owns a number of professional sports franchises including the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs, NBA’s Toronto Raptors and MLS’ Toronto FC – as well as Anschutz Entertainment Group, which owns the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings and Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, among other properties.
Leiweke has denied any wrongdoing and said he’ll fight the charges. He faces up to 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine if he’s convicted.
On Thursday, Oak View Group announced that Leiweke will transition from his position as CEO to Vice Chairman of the group’s Board of Directors. He will also remain a shareholder in the company.
Oak View Group sent KVUE the following statement regarding Leiweke’s indictment:
“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. We are proud of the partnerships we’ve built, and remain committed to continuing to offer exceptional hospitality and holistic venue management solutions and venue development expertise which deliver value to our venue partners, fellow service providers, and the communities and customers we serve.”