Tim Leiweke receives presidential pardon amid bid-rigging charges

President Donald Trump issued a pardon Tuesday for Tim Leiweke, the Climate Pledge Arena developer and co-founder of Oak View Group, who was indicted on bid-rigging charges in July.

“This has been a long and difficult journey for my wife, my daughter, and me. The president has given us a new lease on life with which we will be grateful and good stewards,” Leiweke said in a statement to CNN.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division announced on July 9 that Leiweke was accused of conspiring with a competitor to bid-rig for an arena built at the University of Texas in 2018, now known as the Moody Center.

“As outlined in the indictment, the Defendant rigged a bidding process to benefit his own company and deprived a public university and taxpayers of the benefits of competitive bidding,” Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater of the DOJ’s Antitrust Division said at the time of the indictment.

Tim Leiweke’s bid-rigging scandal

Leiweke previously pleaded not guilty to the charges and faced a maximum of 10 years in prison, along with a $1 million fine.

Leiweke allegedly secured an illegal agreement with Legends, a competitor, for it not to make a bid on the Moody Center arena in exchange for subcontracting work, according to an unsealed indictment in federal court in Austin, Texas.

The indictment filed in the U.S. District Court noted that between approximately February 2018 through at least June 2024, Leiweke conspired with a competitor to rig the bidding for the development, management, and use of a multi-purpose arena.

Prosecutors noted that Leiweke, the former CEO of live events company Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) and co-founder of Oak View Group in 2015, later backed out of the deal with Legends.

Oak View Group ordered to pay $15 million fine

The global venue developer was ordered to pay a $15 million fine under a settlement with the DOJ, and Legends would pay a $1.5 million fine, which would allow both companies to avoid being charged, according to the DOJ.

Oak View Group is the majority owner and operator of the Climate Pledge Arena, located at the Seattle Center, and home to the Seattle Kraken and Seattle Storm, which opened on Oct. 19, 2021.

According to the indictment, in November 2017, Leiweke informed others that he had no issue colluding with competitors about not bidding and subcontracts, but Leiweke had “no interest in working with them if they intend on putting in a bid.”

In Feb. 2018, Leiweke reached an agreement with the competitor’s CEO, who agreed that it would neither submit nor join an independent competing bid for the arena project. Leiweke offered that the competitor would receive subcontracts for the arena project in return.

Consistent with the agreement, the competitor did not submit a competing bid for the project, and Oak View Group submitted the only qualifying bid, ultimately winning the arena project.

Chris Granger appointed as interim CEO

Oak View Group previously announced that Leiweke will leave his role as CEO and become vice chairman of the board of directors, with Leiweke remaining as a shareholder of the company. Chris Granger, president of OVG360, was appointed by the board as interim CEO.

On Dec. 2, one day before Leiweke’s pardon, Granger was officially named the CEO of Oak View Group by the board of directors, the company announced in a release.

A spokesperson with the Oak View Group said that the company “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.”

Federal prosecutors emphasized the seriousness of the charges.

“Unfair business practices, like those employed here, make it very difficult for the American people to pursue prosperity like our founders intended,” U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons stated. “In the Western District of Texas, we’re proud to work with our colleagues in the Antitrust Division on these types of cases, and we will do all we can to ensure those who engage in the type of conduct described in this case are held to account.”

Follow Jason Sutich on X. Send news tips here.