Tim Leiweke has stepped down as CEO of Oak View Group, a Denver-headquartered professional sports and commercial real estate company, following a federal indictment that accused him of rigging a bid to build and manage the Moody Center Arena at the University of Texas in Austin.
Leiweke will take on the role of vice chairman of Oak View Group’s board of directors, which appointed company president Chris Granger as the new chief executive. In a statement on the company’s website, Leiweke declared, “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.”
The indictment, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, alleged that Leiweke conspired with the leadership of Legends Hospitality, a competitor, to rig the bidding for the development, management, and use of the Moody Center Arena. The two companies faced a third firm interested in the project. In February 2018, Leiweke and his counterpart at Legends Hospitality reached an agreement with the Legends Hospitality agreeing not to pursue the bid for the arena project with the promise that it would receive the project’s subcontracts. Leiweke’s company ultimately submitted the sole qualified bid.
Leiweke is charged with a violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal fine. Oak View Group 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.
“As outlined in the indictment, the Defendant 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 Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “The Antitrust Division and its law enforcement partners will continue to hold executives who cheat to avoid competition accountable.”
