James Dolan has abruptly nixed a tie-up with the corporate that manages his sports activities and leisure venues after the agency disclosed plans to construct a brand new area in Las Vegas — a mission that Dolan believes might compete instantly in opposition to the Sphere, The Put up has discovered.
The billionaire Knicks proprietor has quietly damaged off an uncommon 14-month-old partnership with Oak View Group — a rival agency co-founded by Dolan’s longtime pal, the legendary live performance promoter Irving Azoff — which had aimed to draw a mega-buck sponsor for the Las Vegas Sphere, sources stated.
In interview with The Put up in September 2023 — simply weeks earlier than the Sphere’s grand opening kicked off with a residency by iconic Irish rock group U2 — Oak View CEO Tim Leiweke stated the partnership, dubbed Crown Properties Assortment, aimed to promote the naming rights to the Sphere in a $40-million-a-year deal.
“That’s the range for the top arenas in the country like Madison Square Garden,” Leiweke informed The Put up.
That hasn’t but materialized, nevertheless — with Dolan just lately rejecting a $30 million provide from a potential naming companion, in keeping with two sources near the state of affairs.
In the meantime, Leiweke revealed at a convention in Phoenix final month that Oak View was teaming up with the Rio On line casino in Las Vegas to construct the brand new, NBA-size area on Rio’s parking zone that had roughly the identical seating capability because the high-tech Sphere, sources stated.
Including insult to harm, Leiweke additionally informed the VenuesNow convention on Oct. 16 that he was speaking to the house owners of the ABBA Expertise present on the London Theatre to carry out within the yet-to-be-built area — a manufacturing that could possibly be tailored to play on the Sphere, in keeping with insiders.
Oak View hopes it may possibly increase the funds for the mission after which lure an NBA crew, insiders stated. The announcement sparked chatter that Leiweke had confirmed himself to be an unreliable enterprise companion for Dolan.
“I’ve wondered why Dolan hired Leiweke in the first place,” a supply near the state of affairs informed The Put up, including that “Tim is trying to make the Rio a lot of money” and “Dolan fired him because he thought Leiweke was being competitive with him.”
Dolan declined to remark.
Leiweke didn’t instantly reply for remark.
Nonetheless, Dolan’s transfer to fireside Oak View stunned individuals at Crown Properties, a supply near the state of affairs stated. Dolan’s Sphere Leisure paid $51 million for an 8.3% stake in Crown Properties, in keeping with The Sphere’s public filings.
Final fall, Oak View mixed the 200 individuals in its sponsorship division with the 40 to 50 working at MSG to create Crown Properties. Now a few of these MSG staff who have been transferred to Crown Properties are being moved again to MSG, sources stated.
Leiweke was engaged on a unique 20,000 seat NBA area Las Vegas mission that died over the previous couple of years on land that Oak View owns, inflicting him to pivot to The Rio partnership, sources stated.
Oak View owns or operates greater than 300 venues together with proudly owning a part of the UBS Enviornment on Lengthy Island the place the New York Islanders play.
Leiweke, who shaped Oak View with longtime Eagles promoter Azoff in 2015, has a historical past of run-ins with highly effective crew house owners.
Los Angeles Kings Proprietor Phil Anschutz in 2013 swiftly compelled Leiweke out as CEO and president of his leisure firm AEG after Leiweke painted too rosy an image of AEG’s funds to potential AEG patrons, sources stated on the time.
Leiweke left as CEO and President of Maple Leaf Sports activities & Leisure, proprietor of the hockey crew and the Toronto Raptors, after just one yr as a result of Leiweke reportedly wished a brand new problem.
