Trump Pardons Ex-OVG Chief Tim Leiweke in Bid-Rigging Case

President Donald Trump wiped away the federal case against Tim Leiweke, the powerhouse executive who helped build Oak View Group into a worldwide sports and entertainment venue developer.

Leiweke, who stepped down as Oak View Group’s CEO after his July indictment, was pardoned Dec. 2, according to a notice posted to the U.S. Department of Justice’s website the following evening, the Austin Business Journal reported. Leiweke had faced a single felony count of restraining trade tied to OVG’s ultimately successful pursuit of a deal to develop the Moody Center arena at the University of Texas main campus in Austin.

Leiweke is well known nationally for his years spent working for billionaire Philip Anschutz and Los Angeles-based AEG Worldwide, which owns the Crypto.com arena and the Los Angeles Kings hockey club along with other venues around the U.S. and world. Leiweke later played a similar role with the Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment in Toronto before joining with music industry veteran Irv Azoff to form Oak View Group, which operates a roster of facilities ranging from the UBS Arena in New York to the Arie Crown Theater in Chicago and several Texas properties also in the mix.

Prosecutors alleged he conspired with Legends Hospitality in 2018 to rig the bidding, convincing a rival firm to back off in exchange for future contracts once the Austin venue opened. If convicted, he faced up to 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

The pardon arrives five months after the indictment forced Leiweke — one of the most recognizable operators in sports and entertainment real estate — to relinquish the CEO role at the Denver-based firm he co-founded. Oak View Group secured non-prosecution agreements in the case, paying a $15 million fine, while Legends paid $1.5 million. Leiweke consistently maintained his innocence, arguing that collaborating on the bid was a standard strategy for a young company competing for marquee projects.

Leiweke expressed deep gratitude to Trump in a statement to Sports Business Journal, calling the case a “long and difficult journey” for his family. A jury trial had been scheduled for May 4 after being pushed from an initial December date.

The timing wasn’t subtle. Hours before the pardon became public, Oak View Group formally named veteran sports executive Chris Granger its permanent CEO. Granger had been serving in an interim capacity since Leiweke’s departure and is now tasked with steadying a company that has ballooned into a global powerhouse, managing and developing arenas, stadiums and live-entertainment districts across North America and abroad.

Oak View Group struck a supportive note in a statement to SBJ, saying it was “happy for Tim that he can now put this matter behind him” while emphasizing its focus on clients under Granger’s leadership. The company opened and operates the Moody Center, which has become a major anchor for Austin’s live-events economy since debuting in 2022.

— Eric Weilbacher