Photo credit: Mitchell Kmetz
The Justice Department has indicted View Oak Group CEO Tim Leiweke in an alleged scheme to rig bids on Austin’s Moody Center.
The Justice Department has indicted Tim Leiweke, CEO of Oak View Group, a veteran sports and live entertainment executive who previously led AEG. Leiweke was charged with antitrust violations in an alleged scheme to rig the bidding process for a Texas public arena.
According to the indictment, Leiweke orchestrated efforts to force a rival to reduce an offer for an arena contract from 2018 in exchange for subcontracts. The arena involved, the Moody Center at the University of Texas at Austin, opened in 2022. Leiweke co-founded Oak View with Irving Azoff in 2015; Azoff was not named in the DOJ indictment.
Leiweke was charged with violating Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Oak View agreed to pay $15 million in fines, while Legends Hospitality, in connection with the conduct alleged in the indictment, agreed to pay $1.5 million.
“As described in the indictment, [Leiweke] rigged a bidding process to benefit his own company and deprived a public university and taxpayers of the benefits of competitive bidding,” said Abigail Slater, head of the DOJ’s antitrust division.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for Leiweke said he “did nothing wrong and will vigorously defend himself and his well-deserved reputation for fairness and integrity.”
“The Antitrust Division’s allegations are flawed in law and fact, and the case should never have been brought,” the spokesperson’s statement continued. “The law is clear: vertical and complementary business partnerships, such as the one contemplated between OVG and the Legends, are legal. These allegations blatantly ignore established legal precedent and seek to criminalize joint team efforts that are proven to improve competition and benefit the public. The Moody Center is a perfect example, as if it results in one of the substantial and sustained benefits to the University and the competition of the University, as well as the City, is proven and sustained.”
Shortly after the indictment was released, Oak View Group announced that Leiweke would step down as CEO and become Vice Chairman of the Board. He will remain a shareholder. OVG360 President Chris Granger was appointed by the board as interim CEO.
According to a spokesperson for Oak View Group, they “have cooperated fully with the antitrust division’s investigation and [are] 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 maintaining industry-leading compliance and disclosure practices.”
Notably, the statement did not address Leiweke’s accusation.
