The former president of the Denver Nuggets has been indicted, accused of bid rigging by a federal grand jury. In the indictment, Timothy Leiweke has been accused of orchestrating a conspiracy to rig the bidding process for an arena at a public university in Austin, Texas.
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Leiweke is currently the CEO of Oak View Group. According to OVG’s website, the global headquarters are located in Denver.
According to the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division in Texas, the indictment alleges that from approximately February 2018 through at least June 2024, “Leiweke conspired with the Chief Executive Officer of a competitor to rig the bidding for the development, management, and use of a multi-purpose arena that was to be located on the campus of a public university in Austin, Texas (the “Arena Project”).”
According to the indictment, in September 2017, Leiweke informed colleagues that he had learned another venue-services company was “bidding against us” for the Arena Project and wanted to “find a way to get [the competitor] some of the business” and “get them to back down.” In November 2017, Leiweke informed others that he was “[m]ore than happy talking to [the competitor] about not bidding and [receiving certain subcontracts]” but had “no interest in working with them if they intend on putting in a bid.” In February of 2018, Leiweke ultimately reached an agreement with the competitor’s CEO, pursuant to which the competitor agreed that it would stand down and neither submit nor join an independent competing bid for the Arena Project. In exchange for the competitor’s agreement to stand down, Leiweke represented that the competitor would receive Arena Project’s subcontracts. Consistent with the bid-rigging agreement, the competitor did not submit a competing bid for the Arena Project. OVG ultimately submitted the sole qualified bid and won the Arena Project. The arena opened to the public in April 2022, and OVG continues to receive significant revenues from the project to date.
“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,” said Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division in a statement. “The Antitrust Division and its law enforcement partners will continue to hold executives who cheat to avoid competition accountable.”
“Timothy Leiweke allegedly led a scheme designed to steer the contract for entertainment services at a public university’s arena to his company. Public contracts are subject to laws requiring an open and competitive bid process to ensure a level playing field,” said Assistant Director in Charge Christopher G. Raia of the FBI New York Field Office in a statement. “The FBI is determined to ensure that those who disregard fair competition principles do not benefit from a rigged bidding process targeting our communities and public institutions.”
According to the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division in Texas, OVG and Legends Hospitality have agreed to pay $15 million and $1.5 million in penalties in connection with the conduct alleged in the indictment against Leiweke.
Leiweke has been charged with a violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act. The maximum penalty for individuals is 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal fine.
Leiweke spent four seasons as the president of the Denver Nuggets before he moved onto a position as CEO and president of Anschutz Entertainment Group or AEG and also acted as president and CEO of U.S. Skiing.
