Plans to redevelop Miami Marine Stadium were derailed by an indictment brought against the former CEO of the company tapped to oversee the restoration.
The City of Miami was set to vote Friday, Sept. 5 to send a referendum on the proposal to the November election, the Miami Herald reported. The city had chosen the firm Global Spectrum, doing business as Oak View Group (OVG) to take the reins as the operator of the historic venue.
In July, the Department of Justice indicted OVG’s co-founder and CEO Timothy Leiweke, alleging he had conspired to rig the bidding process for “the development, management and use of a multi-purpose arena,” planned for a public university campus in Austin, Texas, according to a press release. He stepped down as CEO of the firm and pleaded not guilty to the charges. OVG reached a non-prosecution agreement with the DOJ and agreed to pay $15 million in penalties in July, Billboard reported.
That month a spokesperson for Leiweke offered this statement to Variety:
“Mr. Leiweke has done nothing wrong and will vigorously defend himself and his well-deserved reputation for fairness and integrity,” the spokesperson told the outlet. “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.”
City Manager Art Noriega told the Herald he did not learn of the indictment until Sept. 4, the night before the scheduled vote, when the outlet emailed him a request for comment. An internal memo reviewed by the outlet showed the city met with OVG four times between the indictment and the scheduled vote.
The memo read: “Due diligence was conducted, including verifying corporate status,” the outlet reported. “There were no adverse findings related to [the company’s] responsibility.”
Noriega told the outlet the city needed to do more due diligence regarding the Marine Stadium operator selection.
“It was other stuff beyond the indictment that was a little more concerning,” Noriega told the outlet. “Right now, I’m not comfortable with the set of circumstances with the vendor and the continued role of the former CEO.”
While the OVG indictment has disrupted the plans, Noriega said the project is not dead in the water.
“We are 100 percent committed to still moving forward with the stadium renovation, and hopefully we’ll have an operational partner, whether it’s this particular group or another group,” he told the outlet.
–– Kate Hinsche