Tim Leiweke, exec who spearheaded UBS Arena project, indicted on federal bid-rigging charges in Texas

The Denver-based executive who spearheaded construction of UBS Arena, playing a leading role in bringing the Islanders back home to Long Island to play at their permanent home in Elmont, has been indicted on a federal conspiracy charge for allegedly orchestrating the bidding process of an arena in Austin, Texas

Tim Leiweke, 68, the now former chief executive officer of the Oak View Group, is charged with one count of conspiracy to restrain trade and faces up to 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

Federal prosecutors on Wednesday said he negotiated a deal with Legends Hospitality, a live events company whose minority owners include the Yankees, to drop a competing bid to develop and operate the 15,000-seat Moody Center at the University of Texas in exchange for lucrative subcontracts. Leiweke reneged on that deal after Legends dropped its bid, according to the indictment, filed in U.S. District Court in Austin.

Alleged scheme to steer contract

"Timothy Leiweke allegedly led a scheme designed to steer the contract for entertainment services at a public university's arena to his company," said Christopher Raia, assistant director in charge of the FBI's New York field office. 

The federal indictment of Leiweke is unrelated to the construction of UBS. 

In a statement, a Leiweke spokeswoman said he "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," the statement said.

Oak View Group, which is part of the UBS' ownership group, agreed to pay $15 million in penalties in connection with the allegations.

The company announced Wednesday that Leiweke would step down as CEO — he will remain as vice chair of OVG’s board of directors — and would be replaced by Chris Granger, who previously served as group president for sports and entertainment of the Detroit Tigers and Detroit Red Wings and as chief operating officer of the Sacramento Kings.

"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," the company said in a statement. "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."

Legends, which is owned by Sixth Street Partners, and whose minority owners include the New York Yankees and the Dallas Cowboys, agreed to pay $1.5 million, prosecutors said. A company spokeswoman declined to comment.

'No change' at UBS

It was not immediately clear what impact Leiweke's indictment could have on the future of UBS and the ongoing development of Belmont Park Village, a $1.5 billion, 340,000-square-foot open-air shopping and entertainment center next to the arena. The project also includes a 250-room hotel.

"There will be absolutely no change whatsoever at UBS," Leiweke told Newsday on Thursday. "I am still vice chairman of the company and still involved with our partnership with the Islanders and the State of New York."

A spokesman for Islanders co-owners Jon Ledecky and Scott Malkin declined to comment on the indictment as did Jeff Wilpon, the Mets former chief operating officer who is part of the arena's ownership group. An NHL official did not respond to a request for comment.

Leiweke, the former chief executive of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, which owns the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Toronto Raptors, played an outsize role in efforts to build the 17,000-seat UBS Arena and lure the Islanders back to the island after their abbreviated run as tenants at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

After purchasing the Islanders with Malkin from then-owner Charles Wang, Ledecky spent two years on what he described as "a listening tour," traveling to NHL cities to meet with owners to learn how they did their job.

When the topic turned to getting an arena built on Long Island, Ledecky told Newsday in 2020 that, "Everywhere I went, people said, Tim Leiweke."

In 2015, after Leiweke formed the Oak View Group with entertainment executive Irving Azoff, the Islanders became their first client.

"This wasn’t a troubled franchise," Leiweke told Newsday in September of 2020. "This wasn’t a bad market hanging on for dear life ... this wasn’t a team trying to battle above its weight to survive. This was the freaking New York Islanders, one of the legacy franchises."

The following month, as Leiweke took reporters on a tour of UBS before its opening in November 2021, he described it as "the last great arena built in New York of our generation."

While fans insist the arena is first-rate, many have criticized the hassle of getting to UBS by car or by train and attendance has dropped since the team's inaugural season in Elmont.

Bid rigging allegations

In 2017, Leiweke told his Oak View Group colleagues that another company, identified in documents as Legends, was "bidding against us" to build the $338 million Moody Center and suggested they should "find a way to get [the competitor] some of the business" and "get them to back down," prosecutors said.

In November 2017, Leiweke said 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," the indictment alleges.

Four months later, Leiweke reached an agreement with Legends that it would not submit a bid for the project in exchange for arena subcontracts, prosecutors said.

Oak View Group ultimately submitted the sole qualified bid and won the arena project, which opened to the public in April 2022.