Question of the Day - 07 August 2025

Nope. Leiweke had the good grace (and sense) to resign from Oak View Group (OVG) as soon as he was indicted. Also, unless additional hanky-panky involving Las Vegas is uncovered, Oak View should be able to keep pursuing its dreams of an NBA arena in Sin City. More on that in a moment.

Between 2018 and 2024, investigators allege, Leiweke colluded with another CEO to “rig the bidding for the development, management, and use” of the Moody Center at the University of Texas. Supposedly, he arranged for a rival firm to receive subcontracting rights in exchange for not bidding against Oak View. According to The Guardian, “OVG went on to construct the building after submitting the sole bid and the Moody Center opened in 2022.”

Leiweke was a well-traveled sports exec. From 1991 to 1995 he was president of the Denver Nuggets. Then he moved on to Anschutz Entertainment Group for 18 years. In 2018, he took up the CEO’s mantle at Maple Leaf Sports. He came to Oak View, of which he was a co-founder, in 2015.

Obviously, losing one’s CEO in mid-project is a jolt. Speaking of jolts, Oak View may lose its contract to build the Louisiana State University sports arena. As for the Las Vegas one, it’s not even on a drawing board at this point.

An initial location on Blue Diamond Road was abandoned a few months ago, following three years in a holding pattern. Since then, sites behind the Rio and at Resorts World have been mooted. Local scuttlebutt, however, is that the Rio deal is kaput and the Resorts World prospect is on thin hardwood. (We’d say “thin ice,” but Las Vegas already has hockey.)

Although the NBA openly covets Las Vegas as an expansion market, finding a venue has been difficult. The infamous All-Net Arena had the site, but not the money. The inability to find a viable location for the Oak View project is the reverse, an arena without a site. Also, neither the Rio (an old casino with relatively new operators at the helm) nor the financially troubled Resorts World appears to be the sturdiest partner.

The most serious threat to Oak View in Vegas comes not from the Department of Justice, but from Las Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley. He's in the process of trying to raise funds to upgrade T-Mobile Arena, partly to lure NBA participation. “T-Mobile Arena is the perfect place for an NBA team to play,” Foley said on Vegas PBS.  “We have a plan in place to spend about $300 million in improvements, adding seats, suites, and hospitality and upgrading the park.”

Foley has a winning team and a track record of getting things done on the Strip. At T-Mobile, he also has an established deep-pocketed partner in MGM Resorts International. That gives him street cred that rival projects — even Oak View’s — currently lack.