LEIWEKE’S BACK
IN TOWN

In retrospect, most believe it wasn’t prudent for AEG to fire Tim Leiweke. When the axing went down in March 2013, the move was widely viewed as impetuous on the part of Phil Anschutz, after AEG’s owner and CEO fell out over a proposal to bring an NFL team to L.A. That plan fell through, but don’t feel bad for Anschutz, a multibillionaire who has his hands on all manner of businesses, from real estate and sports to petroleum and railroads.

As for the well-liked Leiweke, who looked like a victim at the time, he’s presently competing with AEG head to head in a number of areas, and it’s double-trouble for his former company now that Leiweke has partnered with the Azoff MSG team, another AEG competitor. Earlier this year, with Azoff MSG’s backing, Leiweke formed the L.A.-based Oak View Group, which bills itself as a global advisory, development and investment company for the sports and live entertainment industries.

Earlier this week, OVG announced an alliance of independent arenas whose charter members include AT&T Center (San Antonio), Air Canada Center (Toronto), Bankers Life Fieldhouse (Indianapolis), Chase Center (San Francisco) the Forum (L.A.), Madison Square Garden (Las Vegas), Madison Square Garden (NYC), Pepsi Center (Denver), Philips Arena (Atlanta), Prudential Center (Newark), Quicken Loans Arena (Cleveland), the United Center (Chicago) and Wells Fargo Center (Philadelphia).