This story was originally published on MyNorthwest.com
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division announced on Wednesday that Tim Leiweke, who owns and operates Oak View Group, the majority owner of Climate Pledge Arena, was accused of bid-rigging for an arena built at the University of Texas in 2018.
Leiweke is the CEO of Oak View Group, a stadium development company that redeveloped Climate Pledge Arena, and is accused of colluding with a competitor on bids for an arena.
Tim Leiweke accused of bid-rigging
Leiweke allegedly secured an illegal agreement with Legends, a competitor, for it to not make a bid on the Moody Center arena in exchange for subcontracting work, according to an unsealed indictment in federal court in Austin, Texas.
The indictment filed in the U.S. District Court noted that between approximately Feb. 2018 through at least June 2024, Leiweke conspired with a competitor to rig the bidding for the development, management, and use of a multi-purpose arena.
“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.”
Prosecutors noted that Leiweke, the former CEO of live events company Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) and co-founder of Oak View in 2015, later backed out of the deal with Legends. Oak View will pay a $15 million fine under a settlement with the DOJ, and Legends will pay a $1.5 million fine, which would allow both companies to avoid being charged, according to the DOJ.
The Oak View Group is the majority owner and operator of the Climate Pledge Arena, located at the Seattle Center, and home to the Seattle Kraken and Seattle Storm, which opened on Oct. 19, 2021.
According to the indictment, in Nov. 2017, Leiweke informed others that he had no issue colluding with competitors about not bidding and subcontracts, but Leiweke had “no interest in working with them if they intend on putting in a bid.”
In Feb. 2018, Leiweke reached an agreement with the competitor’s CEO, who agreed that it would neither submit nor join an independent competing bid for the arena project. Leiweke offered that the competitor would receive subcontracts for the arena project in return.
Consistent with the agreement, the competitor did not submit a competing bid for the project, and Oak View submitted the only qualifying bid, ultimately winning the arena project.
The Oak View Group announced that Leiweke will leave his role as CEO and become vice chairman of the board of directors, and Leiweke will remain a shareholder of Oak View Group. Chris Granger, president of OVG360, has been appointed by the board as interim CEO.
A spokesperson with the Oak View Group said that they “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.”
“Unfair business practices, like those employed here, make it very difficult for the American people to pursue prosperity like our founders intended,” said U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons. “In the Western District of Texas, we’re proud to work with our colleagues in the Antitrust Division on these types of cases, and we will do all we can to ensure those who engage in the type of conduct described in this case are held to account.”
Climate Pledge Arena, the home for the Seattle Supersonics’ return?
It’s no secret the city wants the league to come back. Expansion is on the NBA’s to-do list, and it’s likely that talks — the first of many, many steps in this process — could start in earnest with interested cities in July. Commissioner Adam Silver, however, hasn’t fully committed to adding new teams.
While it’s currently the home to the Seattle Storm and the Seattle Kraken, the arena was built with the NBA in mind, according to The Seattle Times.
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