The indictment against the top executive of the final firm in consideration to develop LSU’s new $400 million arena isn’t the company’s first legal entanglement.
As Daily Report writes, federal court filings allege Denver-based Oak View Group described itself as a “pimp,” “hammer” and “protector” for Ticketmaster and its parent company, Live Nation Entertainment in a 2024 civil antitrust lawsuit the Justice Department brought against the ticketing giant. Oak View Group is not a defendant in the case, though it is represented by three attorneys from Milbank LLP as an interested party in the proceedings.
The complaint, filed just over a year ago in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleges that Live Nation-Ticketmaster exercises monopolistic power over performers, venues and independent promoters in ways that harm competition, forcing fans to pay more for tickets. Forty states have joined that case, including Louisiana.
In announcing the Sherman Act case last May, federal authorities described Oak View Group as part of Ticketmaster’s “flywheel,” alleging OVG was a “a potential competitor-turned-partner that has described itself as a ‘hammer’ and ‘protector’ for Live Nation.” The complaint alleges that in recent years, Oak View Group “has avoided bidding against Live Nation for artist talent and influenced venues to sign exclusive agreements with Ticketmaster.”
As Daily Report first reported Wednesday, the chair and CEO of Oak View Group has been indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice this week in an unrelated case. He’s accused of participating in a “bid-rigging scheme” tied to the development of the Moody Center in Austin, Texas.
Ellen Davis of August Strategic Communications, a spokesperson for Tim Leiweke, contends the executive in that case has “done nothing wrong” and will “vigorously defend himself and his well-deserved reputation for fairness and integrity.” Efforts to reach her before publication this morning regarding Oak View Group’s role in the Ticketmaster case were unsuccessful. For its part, Live Nation has denied the allegations against it, dubbing it a “PR win for the DOJ in the short term” that “ignores the basic economics of live entertainment.”
It’s currently unclear how the indictment will affect LSU’s arena project, if at all. Attempts yesterday to reach multiple stakeholders in the project have gone unanswered.
“From the LSU athletics standpoint, we’re aware of Wednesday’s news and will continue to monitor developments,” Zach Greenwell, with LSU Athletics, told Daily Report this morning. “For any other inquiries, I would refer you to Charles Landry as attorney for the project.”
Landry has yet to respond to a voicemail left early this morning.
