Oak View Group
Oak View Group is an American global advisory, development and investment company for the sports and live entertainment industries. Based in Los Angeles, it was formed on November 16, 2015 by Tim Leiweke & his business partner, Irving Azoff. Leiweke is the company's chief executive officer.History & Business Developments
The company's biggest project is its redevelopment of the former KeyArena in Seattle, in part in preparation for the Seattle Kraken, the city's new National Hockey League team. The new arena, renamed Climate Pledge Arena via a naming rights deal with Amazon will also be home to the WNBA's Seattle Storm. On December 4, 2017, the Seattle City Council voted 7–1 to approve a memorandum of understanding with the Oak View Group for the redevelopment, which will build a new subterranean arena on the existing site while retaining the historical landmarked roof and three exterior walls. Demolition and construction for the new arena began in 2018 and will be fully completed in 2021. The company was competing against a rival proposal by Chris Hansen.
On December 7, the NHL's board of governors agreed to consider an application for an expansion team from Seattle, with an expansion fee set at $650 million. The Seattle ownership group is represented by David Bonderman and Jerry Bruckheimer. On February 20, Mayor Jenny Durkan launched an NHL campaign during her State of the Union and announced that the Oak View Group would be initiating a season ticket drive on March 1, 2018. Upon completion, OVG will manage the new Seattle Center Arena.
The group is also involved in the Belmont Park Arena's development with the New York Islanders. In December 2017, New York Arena Partners won a bid to construct a new, 18,000-seat arena and mixed-used district at Belmont Park, beating a competing proposal by New York City FC for a new soccer stadium. The new arena is projected to be completed in time for the 2021-22 season.
In 2016, Oak View Group announced a "Arena Alliance" of independent arena which includes arenas such as AT&T Center, Scotiabank Arena, Amalie Arena, BB&T Center, Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Chase Center, PPG Paints Arena, KeyBank Center, The Forum, Golden 1 Center, Little Caesars Arena, Madison Square Garden, Pepsi Center, State Farm Arena, Prudential Center, Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Rogers Arena, Enterprise Center, United Center Wells Fargo Center and Xcel Energy Center.
In 2016, the company acquired Venues Today, a trade publication for the live entertainment industry. In 2017, the company purchased Pollstar, a trade publication for the concert industry.
In 2018, it was announced that Oak View Group and the University of Texas at Austin had agreed to build a new $338 million arena for the Texas Longhorns men's and women's basketball programs to replace the Frank Erwin Center.
In February 2019, it was announced that Oak View Group had become the arena manager of Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, Connecticut. In June 2019, it was announced that the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians and Oak View Group plan to build a privately-funded arena on tribal land in downtown Palm Springs, California with the intent of the arena serving as the home ice for the Kraken's American Hockey League affiliate.
