Climate Pledge Arena developer indicted on bid-rigging charges
A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted the co-founder of Oak View Group, developer and co-owner of Climate Pledge Arena, for allegedly rigging a bidding process for an arena project at a public university in Austin, Texas.
The indictment, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, alleges that from February 2018 to at least June 2024, Timothy Leiweke, CEO of Oak View, conspired with a competitor’s CEO to rig the bidding to develop and manage the Moody Center at the University of Texas at Austin.
Leiweke stepped down from his CEO position Wednesday.
Oak View, a Denver-based company that works in venue development, management and hospitality, told The Seattle Times in a statement that it fully cooperated with investigators and “is pleased to have resolved this matter with no charges filed against Oak View and no admission of fault or wrongdoing.”
Oak View paid $15 million to enter a nonprosecution agreement.
The Department of Justice alleges Leiweke had discovered in September 2017 that another venue-services company was bidding and wanted to “get them to back down,” according to the indictment.
In 2018, Leiweke allegedly reached an agreement with a competitor’s CEO to not bid on the project. In exchange, Leiweke guaranteed the competitor would receive subcontracts from the arena. Oak View submitted the only qualified bid and won the $338 million project, which opened in April 2022.
Most government construction projects — including those on public universities — require a bidding process, with the lowest responsive and responsible bidder receiving the contract. Attempts to rig these bids violate antitrust laws, which work to create a fair market.
The competing CEO is not named in the indictment, but Legends Hospitality, another entertainment and venue company, paid $1.5 million to enter the nonprosecution agreement.
Legends Hospitality did not respond to requests to comment.
Separately, Oak View won the bid to renovate KeyArena into Climate Pledge Arena in 2017. The renovation cost $1.15 billion. Oak View is a majority owner of the stadium alongside the Seattle Kraken. Timothy’s brother Tod Leiweke is part owner of the Kraken.
A spokesperson from the Kraken said in a statement Wednesday the company is aware of the indictment but “today’s news has nothing to do with Climate Pledge Arena or the Seattle Kraken and does not impact the day-to-day operations of the arena, our team and our other Seattle projects, including the Memorial stadium or the potential return of the NBA to Seattle.”
Oak View was linked to a winning bid in 2023 to build a $150 million, 10,000-seat Memorial Stadium at Seattle Center. The bid went to One Roof Partnership, which has ties to the Kraken and Oak View.
Jamie Housen, a spokesperson for Seattle’s mayor’s office, said in a statement that the city is confident the public bid process for the Memorial Stadium project was “objective, fair, transparent and followed city standards,” adding the city received two bids, and One Roof was selected based on a competitive process.
Discussions over whether Seattle will bring an NBA team to Climate Pledge Arena have been ongoing since the Seattle SuperSonics left in the early 2000s. Climate Pledge Arena already hosts the Kraken, which is part of the NHL, and the Seattle Storm, a WNBA team, as well as concerts.
If found guilty, Timothy Leiweke could face up to 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal fine. The case is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Labor, the Office of Inspector General and the FBI’s New York Field Office. It is being prosecuted by the Antitrust Division’s New York Office.