State Champ Radio Oak View Group
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Former Oak View Group CEO and longtime sports-entertainment executive Tim Leiweke is asking a federal judge for permission to travel to Canada for business next month — a routine motion on paper that underscores how sharply life changes once an executive is indicted in federal court.
According to an unopposed motion filed Tuesday (Oct. 21) in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, Leiweke has requested permission to travel to Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario, where his company is developing a major arena and entertainment district project. Hoping to be in Canada from Nov. 17-22 to attend business meetings connected to his Denver-based development company Oak View Group (OVG), the filing notes that Leiweke previously surrendered his passport to pre-trial services in Denver but needs temporary access to travel abroad. His probation officer and the U.S. Department of Justice have both indicated they do not oppose the request.
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Leiweke, 68, was arraigned in July and pleaded not guilty to a single count of violating the Sherman Antitrust Act, a charge that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The case stems from a federal grand-jury indictment alleging that Leiweke and executives from Legends Hospitality conspired to rig the bidding process for the Moody Center, a $375 million arena project at the University of Texas in Austin that opened in 2022. Leiweke’s defense has strongly denied any wrongdoing, arguing that OVG and Legends worked independently and that the DOJ is misapplying antitrust law to a deal that, in practice, produced one of the most successful university-arena partnerships in the country.
“Tim and OVG won in Austin by competing fair and square and they delivered fantastic value and a world class arena to the university,” a spokesperson for Leiweke tells Billboard.
Earlier this month, Leiweke’s attorney, David Gerger, filed a separate motion seeking to delay the trial until at least October 2026, citing the need to review more than seven million pages of evidence turned over by prosecutors. Gerger also signaled that the defense will challenge the government’s interpretation of antitrust law as applied to the Moody Center deal.
“Life Doesn’t Go On as Normal”
While Leiweke continues to run his private ventures, his day-to-day life is now dictated by court supervision. To understand what that looks like, Billboard spoke with Justin Paperny, director of White Collar Advice, a Los Angeles-based firm that coaches high-profile defendants through the pre-trial and sentencing process.
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“Life doesn’t go on as normal, not when you have a pre-trial services officer to report to,” Paperny said. “You’re under the microscope of the United States government. They don’t view you as a law-abiding citizen anymore — they view you as someone who broke the law. Traveling internationally, even to Canada, becomes very difficult.”
Paperny, a former stockbroker who himself served time in federal prison (for stock fraud) and who has attended more than 1,500 sentencing hearings nationwide, said the first shock for most white-collar defendants is how restrictive their world becomes overnight. “Every trip has to be approved. Every contact with law enforcement has to be disclosed. For entrepreneurs used to running the show, it’s a massive adjustment,” he said.
Even seemingly minor infractions — a missed call, a traffic ticket not reported — can lead to problems with pre-trial services. “If you get off to a good start, things go smoothly,” Paperny said. “But if you violate even small conditions, the government loses trust quickly.”
Paperny describes the process as bureaucratic but rigid. Defendants on bond must check in regularly with probation officers, report changes in residence or employment, and request written approval for all travel outside their home district.
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“You’re dealing with a bureaucrat who has a job to do,” he said. “They’ll ask about mental-health issues, substance abuse, where you live, what you earn, and they’ll lay out very specific conditions. It’s black and white: if you follow them, things can be fine. If not, you’ll feel the consequences.”
Leiweke’s motion illustrates the point. His lawyers note that he previously received permission to travel to Europe this summer and complied fully with court orders, returning his passport immediately upon re-entry. Still, every trip requires a fresh petition, paperwork and the sign-off of multiple agencies. “It’s an enormous inconvenience,” Paperny said. “For someone used to doing deals across continents, the red tape is relentless.”
Paperny said travel to Canada is especially difficult for anyone under indictment. “Canada doesn’t like felons or people facing charges,” he says. “Even with a judge’s permission, the country may deny entry. It wouldn’t surprise me if he never sees Canada again during this process.”
The restriction often comes as a shock to executives used to global mobility. “I’ve been invited to work in Toronto multiple times and still can’t go [because of my conviction],” Paperny says. “It’s not personal — it’s just policy. They’ll arrest you at the border and send you back.”
Beyond managing restrictions, Paperny said the smartest defendants treat the pre-trial period as an opportunity to build credibility with the court. “The question isn’t just what you did — it’s what you’re doing now,” he says.
Paperny’s firm encourages clients to create what he calls “assets”: tangible contributions that demonstrate accountability and reform. “You don’t just tell a judge you’ve changed; you show them,” he explains. “That could be writing a book, starting a blog, mentoring others or creating a course that helps people. Judges want evidence that you’re using your time constructively.”
Paperny believes these proactive steps often have real impact at sentencing. “We’ve had clients whose efforts to create value for others literally changed the outcome of their case,” he says. “Judges and prosecutors are human — they respond to genuine progress.”
For now, the case moves slowly. The court has not yet ruled on Leiweke’s travel request, though the government’s lack of opposition suggests it is likely to be approved. The larger trial delay motion remains pending, and legal observers say the defense’s strategy may hinge on narrowing the scope of what the government can present as collusion.
Meanwhile, Leiweke continues to serve as chairman of his own firm, advising on arena and stadium developments around the world. The irony, Paperny notes, is that while Leiweke still operates at the top of the business, his movements and activities remain closely monitored by federal authorities.
“He has to focus on what he can control — his conduct, his compliance, his contribution,” Paperny said. “That’s what will ultimately define how this story ends.”
No billionaires bickering here — just your regularly scheduled edition of Executive Turntable, Billboard‘s weekly roundup of promotions, hires, exits and everything in between across the music industry. Let’s get to it…
Veteran touring executive Leslie Cohea will join WME’s Nashville office in mid-July as a partner and music touring executive. She comes to the agency after 10 years at Sandbox Entertainment, where she served as global head of touring and played a key role in guiding the careers of artists including Kacey Musgraves, Dan + Shay, Kelsea Ballerini, Midland and Little Big Town. Before playing in the Sandbox, Cohea spent nearly a decade at AEG Live/The Messina Group, focusing on touring and concert promo and producing national tours for biggies like Ed Sheeran, Dave Matthews and Eagles. Named a Billboard executive of the week in 2023, Cohea will report to WME co-heads Becky Gardenhire, Joey Lee and Jay Williams.
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iHeartMedia announced that Scott Hamilton shifted from his role as principal accounting officer to a consulting position, effective June 2. Subsequently, Michael McGuinness, the deputy CFO since 2019, was appointed as the new accounting chief. Hamilton has served in senior accounting roles at iHeartMedia since 2010 and previously held leadership positions at Avaya and PwC. McGuinness joined iHeartMedia in 2019 and brings prior experience from The Hain Celestial Group and Monster Worldwide. In its SEC filing regarding the change, iHeart emphasized that Hamilton’s transition is not due to any dispute with the company, including issues related to accounting practices or financial reporting.
Big Loud Records appointed Lauren “LT” Thomas as senior vp of radio promotion. Thomas joins Big Loud’s fellow svp of radio promo Tyler Waugh, with both execs reporting to evp of radio promotion Stacy Blythe. Thomas previously served as svp of promotion at Sony Music Nashville, where she led promotion efforts for RCA Nashville and Columbia. Prior to her role at Sony, Thomas worked for five years at Phoenix country music station KMLE-FM. –Jessica Nicholson
Melanie Johnson is PPL’s first-ever director of transformation, a role created to lead a company-wide innovation initiative aimed at expanding PPL into the global leader in neighbouring rights royalty collections. Reporting to CEO Peter Leathem, Johnson will leverage her extensive experience across publishing, labels, DSPs and tech — including roles at Audoo, Utopia Music, Facebook and Sony/EMI — to enhance royalty distribution through amped-up technology and data systems. Her appointment comes as PPL reports over $375 million in collections for 2024. Johnson also serves as vice chair of Music Minds Matter and has been a trustee for the Ivors Academy Trust. Leathem said Johnson’s “commercial thinking, paired with deep industry knowledge” will be a great asset to the UK collective management organization.
Oak View Group welcomed Donna Freislinger Huffman as svp of global procurement. Reporting to CFO Ade Patton and president of premium experiences Josh Pell, Huffman will lead initiatives to streamline procurement, boost cost efficiency across OVG’s global footprint. Her responsibilities also include advancing supplier diversity and sustainability. Huffman brings over 20 years of experience from roles at United Airlines, Vanderbilt University and Hillrom, with a “track record for transforming sourcing organizations and driving enterprise-wide value,” said Patton.
Riser House Entertainment expanded its team with three key hires at the Nashville-based label and publisher. Alex Heimerman joins as vp of streaming and strategic partnerships, bringing experience from UMG Nashville, Red Light Management and The Trenches. Hayley Irvine becomes product manager, overseeing project execution after roles at BMG/Broken Bow Records. Eliza Charette steps in as project and label relations coordinator, supporting artist campaigns and operations, with priors at Madison Square Garden and Big Loud. All three report to Riser House president Jennifer Johnson and label manager Megan Schultz. “At Riser House, we don’t just chase trends — we build legacies,” said Johnson. “As our roster grows with some of the most authentic artists in music, it’s only fitting that our team grows too.”
NASHVILLE NOTES: Marketing agency Results Global launched a new four-person digital and social media division, led by Katrina Maddox, formerly head of digital at The HQ. Joining her are Lindsey Parrish, previously a marketing manager at MV2, and Tess Schoonhoven, who served as social media manager at Venture Music. Rounding out the team is Conner McEuen, appointed as paid media manager after his role as a paid social strategist at Zero Gravity Marketing … Bobbii Jacobs launched Wildflower Entertainment Group, a multifaceted company specializing in artist management, development, brand partnerships and talent booking. Alongside it, she introduced a sister venture, Backstage Access Presents, which focuses on curating VIP fan experiences. Jacobs brings extensive experience to the new ventures, having most recently served as partner and president at Forefront Networks.
IMAGINE, a Berlin-based creative studio specializing in music-driven storytelling, opened a new office in Paris as part of its European expansion. Marie Gleiss has been appointed head of expansion, and Maxence Janvrin joins as business development manager, both bringing deep ties to the City of Lights’s cultural scene. The duo will help advance IMAGINE’s mission of building brand connections through music-first strategies. Co-founder Shai Caleb Hirschson emphasized that music has the ability to foster brand recall and drive more than just clicks. “We’re not here to slap a jingle on a logo,” he said. “We create sound-first strategies that move people, inspire loyalty, and generate long-term brand value.”
Betsie Becker is officially the executive director of Berklee NYC, following her interim leadership since September 2023. Over the past two years, she has been instrumental in growing the campus’s leadership team, enhancing academic programs, and deepening community partnerships. Her achievements include appointing Merrily James and Daniel Pembroke to key roles and strengthening collaborations with NYC Public Schools, Carnegie Hall’s B-Side program and the Fashion Institute of Technology. Becker joined Berklee in 2019 as assistant vp for global program development and co-led the institution’s COVID-19 response. Her previous leadership experience includes roles at Juilliard, Decoda and Ensemble Connect.
Top Drawer Merch, a Los Angeles-based full-service merchandise company, appointed Claudia Peña as director of live events. In this role, she will lead the creation of immersive, attendee-focused brand activations at festivals, tours, and pop-ups, merging storytelling with commerce. Peña, founder of festival beauty brand Lunautics, brings experience in luxury retail and experiential marketing. Her hire follows Top Drawer’s success with events like SLANDER and Insomniac’s Starbase Festival.
Taylor Swift’s orbit is so powerful, it even draws in CEOs.
That’s what’s brought Tim Leiweke, chairman/CEO of Oak View Group (OVG), to Toronto in November. Joining us in a boardroom at OVG’s Toronto office in Liberty Village while an Eras Tour pre-party raffles off tickets to the excited sounds of “oohs” and “aahs” in the next room, Leiweke says Taylor Swift Mania represents a pivotal moment for the city and its big and growing live music industry.
“I’m always amazed not just by her talent, but that she’s just a genuinely very nice human being,” Leiweke said. “But to me, I love Toronto. I’m happy the city gets this moment and this platform. It’s a nice spotlight, and the city always does well in the spotlight.”
OVG played a minor role in the Eras Tour coming to Toronto, arranging the sponsorship of the Canadian leg and helping out with venues behind the scenes. But her presence is a perfect chance for Leiweke to survey the company’s operations in Canada, entertain clients and make ambitious plans.
“Canada is a place where we’re going to plant the flag of this organization and watch it grow,” says Leiweke. “Our entrepreneurial spirit is high in Canada.”
OVG has broken ground on a major renovation of an as-yet-unnamed 18,000-seat arena in Hamilton, Ontario (a large metropolis not quite two hours from Toronto) set to open in 2025. A partnership with Live Nation and the Hamilton Urban Precinct Entertainment Group (HUPEG), it’s a nearly $300-million private-public investment in the former FirstOntario Centre/Copps Coliseum building.
“You’re not gonna recognize the building when we’re through with it,” says Francesca Bodie, OVG’s Chief Operating Officer (Leiweke’s daughter), who also joins the interview with Billboard Canada. She’s excited for the different kinds of entertainment they can bring to Hamilton, from K-pop to South Asian music to boxing. “Hamilton is very diverse, and they’ve got a tremendous appetite for a variety of content. They just don’t have the venue yet.”
As it readies the new arena, which is poised to operate on a scale you’d more often see in Toronto, OVG has been increasing its presence north of the border. It’s hiring new staffers and investing in new ventures, like Departure conference and festival (formerly Canadian Music Week), and partnering with venues like Rogers Place in Edmonton, Canada Life Centre in Winnipeg and Scotiabank Arena in Toronto as part of its Canadian Alliance.
Leiweke is no stranger to Canada. He spent four years as the President and CEO of Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), the company that owns the Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors, from 2013-2015. He even personally cut the ribbon on BMO Field, home of the Toronto FC Major League Soccer Team. He has fond memories of the city, telling stories about buying beers for fans and personally ensuring hot dog buns were toasted.
Leiweke, who is also a former CEO of Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), broke away to partner with music industry titan Irving Azoff to form OVG in 2015, initially starting with four employees and funding it with their own money. Now, Leiweke says the company has 62,000 employees and did “half a billion in sales this year.” The company manages approximately 500 facilities, and built a number of them during the pandemic, anticipating the post-restrictions boom in concerts.
The exec compares the Hamilton Arena Project to Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle when it comes to sustainability (reusing 30,000 pounds of steel by renovating instead of building from scratch) and to CFG Bank Arena in Baltimore for how the company built a splashy project in a city that many didn’t then see as a top-tier market. He also compares it to the big-budget Co-op Live Arena in Manchester for its focus on music and special acoustic treatments to get the best possible sound.
The live music industry is hot right now, especially when it comes to stadiums and arenas. That’s good news for OVG, but it’s also increased scrutiny around the most successful companies. In the United States, the Department of Justice is investigating Live Nation in an antitrust complaint that ties back to the company’s 2010 merger with Ticketmaster. Correspondence from Leiweke and OVG was used as evidence in the case, which alleges that the two companies colluded to undercut competitors. Live Nation has countered to say OVG, which is focused on venue operations and services, is not a competitor in the realm of concert promotion, and that the company’s use of Ticketmaster is above board.
In this wide-ranging interview, the first in Billboard Canada‘s new Executive Spotlight series, Leiweke gives his opinion on the legal challenge from the DOJ. He also shares why OVG is investing in Hamilton, and talks about his big dream for a national stadium of Canada.
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour is arguably the biggest tour of all time, but it seems like there are more mega-tours than ever before. Do you see it as a healthy market for arena and stadium concerts?
I’m also a huge fan of Coldplay, and they kind of sometimes get lost in the Swifties. They opened our building at Climate Pledge Arena in 2021, and they’ve been touring ever since. These guys have been on the road for like four years! We have Sir Paul McCartney at our building in Manchester next month, and to me that’s just another incredible story. Here’s this 80-year-old guy and he’s still in phenomenal shape. We have Springsteen doing three nights. He’s 70-something years old. I mean music is an interesting industry right now. We’ve got a bunch of young turks and a bunch of us old jerks.
It’s a healthy industry. This is still pent up demand from COVID. It’s what people have been talking about forever in our industry, which the transfer of power from recording to touring – because that’s where the money is.
Oak View Group is making a big push here in Canada with the new Hamilton arena that’s coming and then Canadian Music Week, which is now Departure. Is it an intentional push in this country?
Yes. I spent roughly four years with Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment. I very much enjoyed my time here. I was just blown away by Toronto in particular. There’s a lot of great cities in North America, but in my mind there’s not a cleaner, bigger, better city than Toronto. So when we started the new company, I told Francesca I want to focus on opportunities in Canada and I want our company to grow. There were two people when we started this Toronto office. Now, we have at least 40 or 50.
I think the largest single private investment in the history of arenas is what we’re doing in Hamilton. And part of it is just because I was from here [Toronto] for four years. This metro area has to move south. It does. [Toronto’s] metro area is not gonna go backwards. It’s gonna continue to grow. It’s gonna continue to thrive. But if you look cost of living, you look at the campuses and the colleges down there, you look at companies that are moving there, I think Hamilton is an interesting alternative. I mean, just look at the number of condos being built in downtown Hamilton.
Toronto is one of the biggest global touring markets and Hamilton is relatively close by. Is that proximity part of the appeal to build there?
I’ll tell you a story. When I first got here, one of the first things I did is I went to meet every partner. And so I went to the Ford plant [in Oakville, Ontario] to meet the people there, and I realized that plant is almost as close to Hamilton as it is to downtown Toronto. And that was the first time that I understood Hamilton, essentially. It’s like a suburb of Toronto. It’s not that far away. Where I come from, it would be like as Anaheim is to L.A.
If you look at that old building, everyone looks past it. We saw a jewel. We did this in Baltimore where we took an old arena and no one got what we were doing there [at first]. There, we invested about a quarter of a billion. Here, we’re putting in about $300 million. But what we saw was the economy, the energy level, the kids and youth, they’re in Hamilton.
Why build in Hamilton though, and not Toronto directly?
Well, I didn’t want to take on Maple Leafs Sports, because that’s my home. I still have a very good relationship with everybody over there. We’re gonna grow our company with those people, so I’m not coming into their marketplace and competing with them. But what I knew running Air Canada Centre, now Scotiabank Arena, is they’ve got a calendar issue. They’ve got too much going on. There has to be another play. What I love about Hamilton is if there are conflicts [in Toronto], we can have the dates available at that building. But it’s also the ability to go play two nights in Scotiabank and two nights in Hamilton.
There’s lot of opportunity in Canada in general, including a national stadium. You need a national stadium.
What does a national stadium look like? What would that look like? Can you make a comparison?
Wembley Stadium in London. That’s really the inspiration and the concept. Everyone always talks about the NFL coming to Toronto. I say, you don’t understand. They are never coming here until you have a stadium first. You’ve got to find a stadium solution.
Also, I think this is actually one of the greatest soccer markets in the world. You could do 10 international games every year here during the summertime with all the big teams. The national team is also getting good and they need a place that ultimately becomes their home for the qualifications. I think Toronto FC is going to have some big games as well. They have the ability of putting some games into a big stadium. You’ve also got Live Nation building a temporary stadium in order to do concerts [in Toronto] because they’re going to do 20 a year.
So now, combine all of that into a national stadium and then add the opportunity to do NFL football. That’s a huge opportunity.
Are you talking about this theoretically, or is this something that you’re planning to do?
It’s a dream. It’s a really expensive dream. But it is a dream.
Is your strategy different from what you’re doing in the United States and in the rest of the world?
Here’s one thing I learned in Canada. I came up here thinking about open competition. We don’t want to be controlled by U.S. media and U.S. banks. And I came here thinking, well, they’re very open to entrepreneurial spirits. And then I remember the first time I walked down Lawrence Street, I think it was, and the banks were all right next to each other. I think they all talk to each other every day. And then I realized, well, wait a minute. There’s only three media companies here and they own everything. It was a learning lesson.
Michael Bloomberg always used to tell me if you want to see economic development, go out and ultimately be the first one in with a vision and then watch how many people will follow you. So, we privatized all 300 million dollars in Hamilton. That’s an amazing commitment on behalf of our partners and the company. And Live Nation, which is interesting that now they’re jumping into the facility business.
You’re partnering with Live Nation on the Hamilton arena. How does that relationship work?
Carefully. As you may know, we got dragged into the lawsuit [with Live Nation and Ticketmaster].
I get the debate on Ticketmaster and Live Nation. But guess what? They approved that merger. So now to sit there and say, you’re a monopoly. You should have dealt with it then. But you approved it. So you can’t now go back and say, we made a mistake.
When we started our company, AEG wasn’t going to do anything with us. There was still some tension [after Leiweke left the company]. They wouldn’t do our conferences. They wouldn’t do our publication [Pollstar or VenuesNow, which OVG owns]. They didn’t want to book our buildings. They wouldn’t talk to us. So if you looked at where we were as a company, it was like, hey, I don’t have a choice if I am going to survive and make a go of this company. Me and Irving Azoff, we personally put our own money into growing this damn thing. Now, I have to find somebody [to book shows] because I need content. My buildings can’t work if I don’t have content.
And so then [the authorities] come back and say, well, why didn’t you be a promoter? I barely had enough money to meet payroll. Me and Irving put $10-15 million into the company and started it up. We were doing the dog paddle.
Now you come along and you want to whack me? And the question I have is, shouldn’t we be like the gold statue winners for entrepreneurial spirit? All I’ve done is given people choices now on food and beverage companies, or facility management companies, or facility development companies. And I’m competing with all these other people. You let AEG and SMG merge. And I’m the dumb schmuck that took them on. I’m the one that went and competed with them. And by the way, I kicked their butt.
Now you penalize me? I didn’t go buy other companies out and try to eliminate competition. If you look at everything we’ve done – privatize the building in New York, privatize the building in Seattle, privatize the building in Austin – isn’t that what we’re supposed to be, entrepreneurial spirit? Shouldn’t we encourage that instead of condemning that?
But it’s like, well, anyone that’s partners with Live Nation, we’re going to get. Why? If you’ve got a problem with them, go talk to them. But at the end of the day, you’re going to penalize me, because I’m working with the only company that would return my phone calls? That’s the mindset now. And I just think it’s wrong.
Now, everybody has an opinion, and theirs counts. And so we will fight through that. But I think we’ve had a four-year stint, at least in our country, where there has been almost ruthlessness towards companies. And to me, this private-public partnership in Hamilton, where we’re putting up all the money and taking all the risk and the city ultimately gives us a long-term lease, I think that’s a good thing. But you’ve got to have entrepreneurs who are willing to take risk.
And so I think we’ve got to get back – in the U.S., but I’d say this applies to Canada, too – to encouraging competition, but celebrating entrepreneurs, and trying to encourage privatization of certain aspects of risk. I think governments should be focused on security, and education, and health, and wellness, and services. That means the private sector has to go figure out a way to build arenas. I don’t think the taxpayers should have to pay for arenas. But it means you better then find people who want to take the risk to develop them. We’ve spent $5 billion as a company. $5 billion. I think that’s a good thing. And by the way, we’re not a monopoly. We have lots of competitors.
Coming back to the arena in Hamilton, what are your hopes for the future of concerts and entertainment in the city?
If you think about arenas, they’re a point of destination that brings the entire community together. And as we’re proving again with Taylor, music moves people. It’s the one thing that unites us and always brings us together. If the arena can be a symbol of rejuvenation and renovation in Hamilton and we can get people pumped up, other developers are going to jump in and other projects are going to get built. There’s a chain effect, and that’s fantastic.
This story was originally published by Billboard Canada.
LONDON — As international president of Oak View Group (OVG), Jessica Koravos has a clear vision of how she wants the U.S.-based facility management and development firm to grow its already rapidly expanding global business.
“We’re trying to be the best venue operators, offering the best entertainment experiences in the world,” she says confidently. “That’s what our goal is.”
Just over six months ago, OVG’s long-planned pivot to international markets took an embarrassing stumble with the repeatedly delayed launch of Co-op Live – the United Kingdom’s biggest indoor music venue and the firm’s first major project outside the United States.
When the official opening for the 23,500-capacity arena, located in Manchester, was pushed back by three weeks following a series of highly publicized delays — including part of a ventilation system falling from the roof just prior to a show by rapper A Boogie wit da Hoodie – Co-op Live became the butt of jokes on social media and generated a slew of negative headlines.
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“It looked worse in the media than it felt on the ground,” reflects Koravos, half a year on from the venue’s troubled launch. “In the grand scheme of things, when you have been working on a project for five years, spent £400 million ($505 million) on it and it’s three weeks late, there’s a long-term perspective that says: ‘This is not the end of the world.’ When you look at it in the context of other big infrastructure projects in the U.K. I don’t think it’s going to go down in history anywhere on the list of problematic deliveries.”
Co-op Live eventually opened its doors May 8 with a headline show by local rock group Elbow. Since then, the venue has quickly become established as a key destination in the European touring circuit, selling over one million tickets and staging over 60 shows to date, including stopovers by Pearl Jam, Nicki Minaj, Liam Gallagher, Keane, Janet Jackson, Charli XCX and the Eagles‘ five-night sellout run – the group’s only U.K. dates on its farewell tour.
A general view of the Co-op Live arena as Elbow performs the inaugural live show at Co-op Live on May 14, 2024 in Manchester, England.
Shirlaine Forrest/WireImage
In November, Co-op Live hosted the MTV European Music Awards (EMAs), featuring performances from Benson Boone, Teddy Swims, Tyla and Busta Rhymes, which had a global digital reach (excluding broadcast) of over 7 billion, according to the venue’s post-event analysis. Upcoming shows at the arena include Paul McCartney, Slipknot, Cyndi Lauper and Sabrina Carpenter.
Co-op Live is one of seven new arenas that OVG has built and opened in the last two years, including the Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, UBS Arena in New York and Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs, Calif. The fast-growing firm, co-founded in 2015 by former AEG CEO Tim Leiweke and ex-Live Nation chairman Irving Azoff, which operates more than 400 buildings globally, also has arenas under development in Nigeria, Canada and Wales, and is “actively looking” for opportunities to further expand its global footprint, says Koravos.
This fall saw the launch of a new division, OVG Stadia, headed by Chris Wright, dedicated to growing the company’s global stadium business. Its remit includes identifying international markets to develop and build new multi-purpose stadiums, as well as expanding OVG’s roster of stadium clients, which includes London’s Wembley Stadium, Scotland’s Murrayfield Stadium, Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego and the historic Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas. The company is additionally pursuing arena development and partnership opportunities in the U.K., Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
“That showcase of Co-op Live is very helpful and we have a lot of other cities [around the world] now saying, ‘Can we have one of those?’” says London-based Koravos, who served as president of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Really Useful Group and formerly held senior roles at AEG Live and AEG Europe before joining OVG.
Ballooning construction costs means “it’s easier said than done,” she cautions, “but we’ll find a way.”
Koravos declines to discuss Leiweke’s publicly stated aim of building a new music arena in London, saying only that there are “announcements to come in the U.K. and continental Europe.”
In the meantime, Oak View Group is looking to grow its share of the live music business by making its full suite of venue services, including hospitality, management, booking, marketing, facility development and sponsorship sales, available to non-OVG affiliated venue owners and third-party operators in Europe, like it already does in the U.S.
To support the rollout, OVG International has bulked up its executive team with recent appointments including former Co-op Live interim general manager Rebecca Kane Burton as executive vice president of venue management and Michalis Fragkiadakis as vice president of hospitality strategy, responsible for driving forward OVG’s food and beverage business following last year’s acquisition of U.K.-based hospitality provider Rhubarb Hospitality Collection. They will be supported by Sam Piccione, international president of sales, Alex Reese, commercial and brand strategy director, and Gary Hutchinson, vice president of booking and commercial partnerships.
“We take pride in the fact that we think about third party business in the same way that we think about our own,” says Koravos. She points to OVG completing “$5 billion worth of naming rights and sponsorship [deals] in the last three years” as evidence of the “industry-leading expertise” that it is offering to venues and live music businesses. Current venue service clients outside North America include football clubs Birmingham City FC, Real Betis and AS Roma, Manchester-based arts venue Aviva Studios and Lloyd Webber Theatres.
“There are lots of facilities, arenas and stadiums all around Europe who would like to host concerts and that’s something that we’re trying to help to see if we can open up more markets for music internationally,” says Koravos. “Our goal is not to win all the contracts and to be everywhere. It’s to be with the right partners that share our values.”
Oak View Group is set to take over hospitality at four OCESA venues in Mexico City, it was announced Monday (Sept. 9).
OCESA, one of the leading live entertainment companies in Mexico, said that Oak View Group’s OVG Hospitality has been selected to “redefine the culinary and hospitality experiences” at Estadio GNP Seguros, Autódromo Hermanos Rodriguez, Centro Citibanamex and Palacio de los Deportes.
The partnership will see OVG Hospitality upgrade experiences at concerts, sporting events and business gatherings by introducing premium services, innovative technologies and a broader range of menu options.
“By merging OCESA’s unmatched expertise in hosting world-class events with OVG Hospitality’s leadership in premium hospitality, we are poised to elevate the fan experience across Mexico, starting with these iconic venues,” said Chris Granger, president of OVG Hospitality’s parent company OVG360, in a statement. “This partnership marks a pivotal expansion of Oak View Group’s presence into Latin America, and we’re particularly excited and humbled to partner with OCESA. As hard-working operators ourselves, we appreciate their entrepreneurial spirit, their bold thinking, and their commitment to music fans across the country.”
As the exclusive food and beverage provider, OVG Hospitality will integrate its industry-leading services across OCESA’s various venues, partnering with local, regional and national vendors to craft menu items that reflect Mexico’s rich culinary heritage. Plans include enhancing the premium experience in suites and clubs, introducing new menu selections and market concepts throughout the year, and integrating technology to streamline ordering and payment processes to reduce wait times.
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While the initial roll out will include nly the four Mexico City venues, the partnership is expected to expand to additional venues starting in January. Additionally, OVG Hospitality will help OCESA introduce new premium spaces and corporate hospitality options at select locations.
OCESA is renowned for promoting over 3,000 events annually, drawing nearly six million attendees across Mexico. Its portfolio of venues includes the recently remodeled 65,000-seat Estadio GNP Seguros; the expansive Centro Citibanamex, a convention center with two million square feet of meeting and exhibition space; and a diverse collection of multi-use venues, theaters, arenas, festival grounds and stadiums.
As Canadian Music Week kicks off its 42nd anniversary, the festival and conference is undergoing a big change.
The major music event, which brings artists and industry to Toronto every year for a week of performances and panels, is changing hands. Festival founder and president Neill Dixon announced his retirement today (June 3) at the welcoming address for the CMW conference, with Toronto mayor Olivia Chow in attendance.
The festival has been acquired by Toronto-based Loft Entertainment and American hospitality and sports company Oak View Group, who plan to expand its offerings while maintaining Dixon’s vision.
Recently named one of Billboard Canada’s Power Players, Dixon was on hand at the June 2 inaugural Power Players event, presenting Gary Slaight with the Power Players Impact Award as his final public appearance before announcing retirement.
Under his leadership, CMW has grown into a major hub for industry events, hosting the Live Music Industry Awards, The Indies awards, Jim Beam National Talent Search, Radiodays North America and more.
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“It has been an incredible journey to see Canadian Music Week grow from a small gathering of music lovers to one of the most influential music festivals and conferences in the world,” Dixon says.
Loft Entertainment and Oak View Group (OVG) will keep the event’s headquarters in Toronto, as they look ahead to its future. Loft is a new venture from industry titan Randy Lennox, former Universal Music Canada CEO and Bell Media President, launched in 2023.
The creative services company’s partnership with OVG on the acquisition boosts the latter’s expansion into Canada. OVG already has partnerships with Canadian sports organizations Canada Basketball and Great Canadian Gaming, and is currently leading a major renovation of Hamilton’s FirstOntario Centre. (It was also recently entangled in the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust complaint against Live Nation).
With an American partner on board, it seems likely Canadian Music Week will look to grow its international footprint, while remaining a home for Canadian music activity. Details for the 2025 edition, the first under the new ownership, are coming soon.
CMW is on now, until June 8. Find festival and conference programming on the event website.
This article was originally published by Billboard Canada.
British rock band Elbow was never supposed to be the first act to play Co-op Live — the United Kingdom’s newest and biggest entertainment arena. That honor was originally supposed to go another Greater Manchester local, comic Peter Kay, who grew up in the nearby town of Bolton, and was slated to officially open the 23,500-capacity venue in on April 23.
But construction delays led to the cancellation of Kay’s shows and subsequent gigs for The Black Keys, A Boogie wit da Hoodie, Keane, Olivia Rodrigo, as well as a five-night run by Take That. After weeks of false starts, executives with building co-owner and developer Oak View Group — partners on the project with City Football Group (the parent company of Manchester City football club) – insist tonight’s (May 14) long-scheduled Elbow show at Co-op Live will go ahead. Across the live business, executives will be keeping a close eye on how events unfold in Manchester, where the much-hyped project is located.
Billed as a “game-changing” best-in-class new arena facility, Co-op Live has long been positioned as an important international pivot for co-owner Oak View Group, the LA-based arena development company launched by OVG chairman and CEO Tim Leiweke a decade ago. OVG has successfully designed, built and opened more than a dozen successful arenas in the U.S. including Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle and UBS Arena in New York and has a full slate of arena development projects in progress in Brazil, Nigeria, Canada and Wales. The firm has also confirmed that it’s in talks to open a new arena in West London.
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Arena construction is challenging under the most ideal conditions, and delays are common, but the arena’s aggressive opening calendar, with more than a dozen concerts planned in its first month, became a liability and source of embarrassment for the company as the delays worsened.
The first signs of problems became apparent at a press launch and invite-only test concert on April 20, headlined by U.K. acts Everything Everything and Rick Astley. OVG’s Leiweke travelled to England to be at the launch, which was attended by Billboard, and told guests of his extreme pride at what OVG and its partners had built in Manchester, which he enthusiastically called “one of the greatest cities on the face of the Earth.”
Foreshadowing some of the issues that were soon to follow, Leiweke urged those present to be patient as his team hosted an audience inside Co-op Live for the first time. “It won’t be perfect,” he said. “Please bear with us as we get through the growing pains and learn tonight how to better operate this building.”
As Leiweke spoke, extensive construction work could be seen and heard taking place in the background. At the time, only the ground floor and sections of the first floor were open to visitors. In those areas, lights, cables and wires could be seen hanging loosely from fittings. Temporary wall and floor coverings were a common sight and only a small number of toilets were accessible. The cold temperature inside the building suggested either its heating system was not working or had not been switched on.
Rendering of the interior of Co-op Live in Manchester, England.
Courtesy of Oak View Group
Hours before doors opened that night, Co-op Live announced it had cancelled thousands of free tickets for the test event, provoking an angry backlash from disappointed fans on social media. Inside the venue, the show went ahead smoothy in front of several thousand people — but it was hardly the grand unveiling OVG were hoping for and was overshadowed by negative headlines.
Less than 48 hours later, Co-op Live began detailing the construction issues delaying the building’s opening, starting with power supply issues that would push back shows for Kay, the comic, and The Black Keys by one week.
That news was followed by the surprise resignation of Co-Op Live building manager Gary Roden, who came under fire from the UK based Music Venue Trust for criticizing a proposal to raise money for venue preservation by adding a surcharge to Co-op Live and other U.K. arena tickets. The next day, the rescheduled opening shows by The Black Keys and Kay were postponed for a second time.
In an interview with the Manchester Evening News, Leiweke said Brexit, Covid and a record amount of rainfall were in part to blame for the delays to the project, while a joint statement from Manchester City Council and the city’s emergency services on April 26 blamed outstanding issues should been fixed in advance of opening including “a fully tested emergency services communication system… some remaining internal security systems, and fire safety measures.”
On May 2, during a soundcheck for A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, a piece of the building’s ventilation system fell from the ceiling, shaking confidence in the building’s readiness. That led to another round of cancellations at Co-op Live, including upcoming shows by Rodrigo, Keane and Take That.
In response, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie and Take That’s teams jumped into action and moved their concerts (six in total) to Manchester’s rival arena facility, the ASM Global-operated AO Arena, who’s general manager Jen Mitchell relished the opportunity, telling Billboard, “Everyone really pulled everything out of the bag at the last minute. It’s been a lot of late-night calls and problem solving, but in the best possible way.”
Mitchell declines to discuss operations at Co-op Live but says she empathizes with the issues the venue has experienced. “Arenas are big venues and there’s always challenges around those, and opening any space comes with its own [unique] challenges,” she says.
In Roden’s absence, Co-op Live is now managed by Rebecca Kane Burton, the former GM of London’s O2 arena, which is owned and operated by AEG.
Over the past two weeks, contractors have been working overtime to fix outstanding issues to the building and get it ready for tonight, insiders tell Billboard. An inspection by Co-op Live subcontractor, SES, found that the issues with its ventilation system, which led to the pulling of A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie’s May 2 show, was the result of “an isolated manufacturing fault.”
Sources tell Billboard that all premium member spaces for which tickets have been sold are up and running, including the venue’s deluxe spaces, Ciroc Lounge and AMP Club. As compensation for recent disruptions, ticket holders for all postponed shows would be offered a free drink and food item of their choice when visiting the arena, Co-op Live said.
“I think the lesson to be learned in all of this, is never over promise and under deliver because it will catch you out,” says Mark Borkowski, founder of London-based communications agency Borkowski and an expert in crisis and reputation management.
“The magnifying glass is now on them but if they can get it right, and they have got to get it right, then all of this will be forgotten.” says Borkowski.
He cites the troubled birth of London’s Millennium Dome, which was subsequently redeveloped as The O2 arena, as an example of high-profile building projects that experience major teething problems before eventually turning it around.
“No project of this scale runs to plan,” adds Borkowski. “The negative headlines that surrounded the Millennium Dome totally dwarfed what’s going on in Manchester, but now [The O2] is held up as one of the best in the world. Co-op Live can use that as exemplar of what they need to do.”
GOAL — a sustainability program developed by founding members Oak View Group, State Farm Arena and its NBA sports tenant the Atlanta Hawks, Fenway Sports Group and green building expert Jason F. McLennan — has released a report outlining the impact of its first year of work.
The group’s 2024 Impact Report reflects data from 40 U.S., Canada and U.K. venues, including large-scale facilities that regularly host music programming like Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena, Southern California’s Acrisure Arena and Austin’s Moody Center. GOAL (which stands for Green Operations & Advanced Leadership) sets out to collect data and build a roadmap for a more sustainable live event and venue industry. The report laid out current member performance and identified what future benchmarks could mean for the environment.
The report states that member venues diverted 32% of waste through reusing, composting and recycling over the last year. If that diversion rate reached 90% for all GOAL members, they could avoid emissions “equal to driving to the moon and back 75 times in a standard gas-powered car,” according to the report.
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The average member venue used 14.48 million gallons of water over the year. If each member reduced their water usage by 5%, it would be enough water for every citizen in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. to have one glass of water.
“The sports and entertainment industry has historically prioritized marketing over positive environmental impact, with venues making declarative statements about sustainability without necessarily following up with concerted action,” said McLennan in the report. “As we move forward, venues must hold themselves and each other accountable, and a consistent rubric for evaluation is essential to build confidence and drive continuous improvement.”
The report also outlines individual efforts at various member venues, with Tampa’s Amalie Arena installing an on-site central energy plant in 2022 to generate electric energy on site, a project that brought the arena’s Scope 1 and 2 emissions (direct greenhouse emissions that occur from sources controlled or owned by an organization and indirect greenhouse emissions associated with the purchase of electricity, steam, heat or cooling down, respectively) to 51% less than the average NHL arena. New Jersey’s Prudential Center purchased two electric Zambonis, while Atlanta’s State Farm Arena is in the process of quantifying all of its natural gas emissions so they can be offset. The average NBA Arena currently produces 1,611 metric tons of Scope 1 carbon emissions.
Meanwhile, three GOAL Members — State Farm Arena, Climate Pledge Arena and UBS Arena in New York — have achieved the U.S. Green Building Council’s TRUE Zero Waste Certification, which means they send at least 90% of their total waste to recycling, compost, donation or for reuse.
“I love GOAL. It’s the most important thing we’ve done toward sustainability,” OVG chairman/CEO Tim Leiweke told Billboard in March. “It’s hugely important that we get other people in the industry committed to GOAL. That’s one of [OVG’s] highest priorities.”
Find the complete report here.
LONDON — From New Order to The Smiths, Oasis to The 1975, Buzzcocks to Take That, the list of famous music acts that have come out of Manchester, England, is long and illustrious. This month, another significant chapter in the northern U.K. city’s celebrated music scene begins with the opening of the 23,500-capacity Co-op Live — the United Kingdom’s biggest and most sustainable entertainment arena.
“We want this venue to be recognized as the next generation in arena facilities that sets the benchmark moving forward. The noise about this building, once it has opened, I think will reverberate a long way,” says GM Gary Roden as he sits in a temporary temporary office trailer next to the venue, shortly after taking Billboard on a behind-the-scenes tour.
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Due to open its doors April 23 with the first of two consecutive shows by British comedian Peter Kay, Co-op Live is the first major project outside the United States from Oak View Group (OVG), the Denver-headquartered global management and development giant co-founded in 2015 by Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff, which operates more than 400 buildings globally.
In the last 16 months, OVG has built and opened seven new arenas, including the Climate Change Arena in Seattle, UBS Arena in New York and Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs, Calif. Arenas are also under development in Brazil, Nigeria, Canada and Wales. OVG COO Francesca Bodie (who is Leiweke’s daughter) says that starting the company’s international expansion in the United Kingdom was a “natural and deliberate step” to take due to the country’s status as “one of the greatest cultural destinations in the world.”
Bodie tells Billboard that Manchester was picked because of its “phenomenal musical heritage and community,” as well as OVG finding the “perfect” location to build a new facility in the city’s Eastlands district, next to Etihad Stadium — the 53,400-capacity home ground of Premier League and UEFA Champions League holder Manchester City football club. “We have built a great foundation in the U.S. and are now focused on projects further afield where we can deliver state-of-the-art venues in places that are in desperate need of something new,” she says.
Manchester City’s parent company, the City Football Group (which is majority-owned by Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates), is an equal joint-venture partner and investor with OVG in Co-op Live, which cost £365 million ($462 million) to build and was designed by Populous, the global design firm behind the Madison Square Garden-owned Las Vegas’ Sphere. Construction was handled by local firm BAM Construction, while the naming rights were awarded to Manchester-based Co-op Group in a 15-year sponsorship deal reported to be worth just under £100 million ($127 million).
Also listed among Co-op Live’s investors is multi-Grammy-winning pop star Harry Styles, who grew up in the small Cheshire village of Holmes Chapel, around 30 miles outside of Manchester, and advised on aspects of the venue’s design.
“To have an artist of that scale investing in our building and be advising us along the way is a very fortunate position to be in,” says Roden. “Tim Leiweke and his team spoke to him at the start of the process about what does an artist need from a building. ‘What matters to you?’ And quite rightly, what artists care about most is their fans and the fan experience.”
Rendering of your view if you have tickets behind stage left.
Courtesy of Oak View Group
To that end, every aspect of Co-op Live has been designed with the audience and performer in mind, says OVG. That means a complete advertising blackout inside its “immersive bowl” interior during shows, comfortable tiered seating that OVG says brings fans 23 meters (75 feet) closer to the stage than arenas of a similar size (complete with beverage holders on every seat), first-class acoustic and audio-visual technology and the largest floor space of any U.K. indoor venue (30,677 square feet in standard-end stage mode and 35,520 square feet when center stage is in the round), capable of holding up to 9,200 people.
The venue also boasts 32 bars and restaurants, including multiple luxury VIP lounges and premium dining options, as well as its own private nightclub. The first thing that general admission ticket holders will see upon entering Co-op Live is “The Street” — a huge indoor food and drinks market with a bar that is 22 meters long (72 feet) that has been designed as the “heartbeat” of the building.
“Everything has been built around this idea of: ‘How do we give the fan the best experience they’ve ever had coming to an indoor arena?’ ” says Roden. He confidently states that the legacy issues for many music fans visiting arena-size venues “where you find your seat, have a terrible warm beer, eat a burger that tastes like cardboard and queue for 30 minutes for the toilet” won’t apply at Co-op Live.
Sustainability is another key consideration in the building’s design, with Co-op Live set to be the United Kingdom’s first and only 100% electric arena, powered by a combination of renewably sourced electricity and a football pitch-size field of on-site solar panels. Meanwhile, the venue’s rectangular flat roof will harvest Manchester’s famous abundance of rainfall, which will then be used to water its plants and flush its toilets.
Air-source heat pumps, reuseable cups, food sourced from nearby vendors and a pledge of zero waste to landfill are among the other environmental initiatives OVG hopes will make Co-op Live the most sustainable arena in Europe. That commitment extends beyond the building’s walls with a neighboring mile-long pedestrian path upgraded with lighting installations and busking spots for musicians to encourage local visitors to walk to the venue rather than drive. Surrounding Co-op Live, a “biodiversity ring” of lush greenery has been planted to provide a natural habitat for wildlife and attract bees.
“The Street” — an indoor food and drink market with a long (72 feet) bar.
Courtesy of Oak View Group
OVG says Co-op Live will bring in between 750,000 and 1 million new ticket sales each year, creating more than 1,000 jobs and contributing £1.5 billion ($1.9 billion) to the local economy over the next 20 years. But not everyone is happy about its arrival.
During the planning process, ASM Global, owners of Manchester’s existing AO Arena — a busy venue located in the heart of the city, which opened in 1995 and regularly features in Billboard‘s year-end Top 10 Venues list, grossing $76.1 million in 2023 from 102 shows, according to Billboard Boxscore — strongly opposed OVG’s plans to build the rival facility. It argued that Greater Manchester, which has a 2.8 million population across the city and its surrounding towns and boroughs, is not big enough to support two separate 20,000-plus-size arenas.
In the past year, AO Arena has undergone a major £50 million ($63 million) upgrade, increasing its overall capacity from 21,000 to 23,000, expanding its standing floor space by 100% and opening new VIP bars and restaurants, ahead of Co-op Live’s opening. (The United Kingdom’s leading venue is London’s 20,000-capacity The O2, which took in $219.5 million last year, making it the world’s second-highest-grossing arena behind Madison Square Garden, according to Billboard Boxscore figures).
“We wouldn’t have put a spade in the ground if we didn’t believe the Manchester market could take two arenas,” says Roden. “The goal is not for us to bring in the same number of shows that were already coming to Manchester. Our goal is to bring in more shows to the city and have international artists stay here longer.”
Bookings indicate the strategy is working with multiple show residencies at Co-op Live scheduled for the Eagles (five nights), Take That (seven nights), Liam Gallagher (four nights), Olivia Rodrigo (two nights) and Nicki Minaj (two nights) in 2024. Other upcoming shows include Kid Cudi, Slipknot, The Black Keys, Eric Clapton, Pet Shop Boys, Jonas Brothers, Pearl Jam, Justin Timberlake, Noah Kahan and Megan Thee Stallion. In November, MTV’s Europe Music Awards (EMAs) will be held at the venue, marking the first time the event has been held in Manchester.
“The moment when we hear that first chord come out from an amp and we hear the fans reacting to that is going to be something to behold and I can’t wait for people to experience it,” says Roden, looking ahead to opening week. “We feel we’ve created a world class facility that showcases Manchester not only to the U.K. and European market but globally as well.”
“In many ways, Co-op Live embodies what OVG is all about,” adds Bodie. “Creating venues that set new industry standards and develop amazing experiences for fans and artists alike.”
The Oak View Group (OVG) will soon enter a key phase of its long-planned pivot to international markets with the opening of Coop Live in Manchester, United Kingdom, next month.
After its record post-pandemic run — which included opening seven arenas in 16 months, including Climate Change Arena in Seattle, UBS Arena in New York and Acrisure Arena in Palm Springs, Calif. — the Tim Lewieke-led management and development company will transition from U.K. venue developer to U.K. venue operator in one of Europe’s largest concert and live entertainment economies.
First Manchester, then the world, says Francesca Leiweke-Bodie, OVG’s COO (and Leiweke’s daughter). She explains the United Kingdom will be the launch point for expanding the company’s private-public partnership model, which looks to government groups to aid in land acquisition in exchange for fully private financing and development work. Leiweke-Bodie says the model is key to driving expansion opportunities into Africa, Asia and the Middle East, where huge gaps in the world’s touring infrastructure prevent popular arena and stadium tours from accessing hundreds of millions of fans.
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Billboard recently caught up with Leiweke-Bodie to discuss the opening of Coop Live and detail OVG’s near-term expansion plans around the globe.
Why did OVG decide to begin their international expansion efforts with the Manchester project?
London and the U.K. have always been a frontrunner for where we as a company want to plant a flag and show the other countries and municipalities that we’re speaking to about public-private partnerships and prove what is possible when the private sector can step in and invest. That doesn’t happen as much overseas, where the market is really heavily driven by municipal financing. Having this project in the U.K., a $375 million privately funded arena with huge community support and more than $1 million going back to the local business — when other potential partners come to Manchester and see what we are doing, there is no doubt that we’re the real deal and will deliver on our promises.
What’s the biggest challenge OVG faces in its efforts to expand internationally?
I think the hardest thing to come by, whether it’s domestically or internationally, is land. We want to build in the urban core. We want to be where the fans want to be — in the city centers. We can do everything else. We’ll build it. We’ll finance it. We’ll book it. We’ll take the risk. But the partnership that we’re always looking for is the land opportunity. Most of these cities are much older than the United States with dense urban cores that we can’t even fathom. To find four or five acres available to build these types of projects with access to public transit is the crux of what we’re trying to create with these city partnerships. There’s also inbound opportunities from local owners and developers that see an opportunity to take land that they might have identified for retail and say, “Let’s rethink this.”
Once the Manchester facility opened, what’s next for OVG?
Hamilton, Ontario is next. It’s an existing 18,000-seat arena we’ve already started work on, taking the building down to its studs and [which] will reopen in late April. It’s the first project in Toronto that was a public-private partnership and ultimately became a renovation project, but it’s effectively a new arena. In North America, there’s only a few strategic markets left where one could make a really big difference with another arena. But overseas, we have a tremendous amount of opportunity because of the growth internationally of global music, from American country music to Latin.
What other metropolitan characteristics appeal to OVG?
Countries or cities that not only attract from surrounding countries but serve as the point of destination for a much broader area. One example is Sao Paulo in Brazil. From a financial perspective, Sao Paulo is an incredible point of destination for not only Brazil, but for Latin America. That’s why we want to plant our flag there because it doesn’t have an arena. Vienna, Austria is the same thing. You know, it is central to continental Europe. You can get to it from six different countries via car. We have about two dozen cities like that we’ve identified.
How does programming and booking drive the OVG strategy?
That’s such a key element. The first domino that we were really thinking about and analyzing from a construction and design perspective is making sure that the building is both turnkey and equipped with all acoustic treatments and back-of-house amenities to accommodate major tours. We talk to local promoters, and figure out what is coming in the rider and work with our partners at the building to alleviate costs. Arenas have to compete with the stadium shows and we have to make the economics work so we’re really looking at the take-home revenue for an artist to make sure that their touring costs are competitive and can exceed the expectations of fans and market partners.
