Denver Business Owner, Former Nuggets President Leiweke Indicted for Rigging Bids

Tim Leiweke, a longtime Denver business leader and former Nuggets executive, has been indicted on a federal criminal conspiracy charge.

Leiweke is currently the CEO of the Denver-based Oak View Group, a company that constructs and operates venues across the country. The indictment, coming from the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice, is based on Leiweke’s alleged actions while bidding for the University of Texas’ new basketball arena in Austin.

According to CNBC, Leiweke is accused of conspiring with another company that wanted to bid for the project by incentivizing that company to drop its competing bid. Leiweke allegedly offered the other company sub-contracts at the $338 million arena, the Moody Center, upon its completion if the competing firm stepped out of Oak View Group’s way.

Leiweke hasn’t run into criminal trouble in the past but he has been known for being a hard negotiator since the 1990s, when he was president of the Denver Nuggets. According to a 1995 Westword story, during his Nuggets tenure from 1991 to 1995, Leiweke became known as a master marketer.

He first leveraged a threat of the team leaving Denver to incentivize fans to come to games in 1991 and, later, leveraged that same threat when the team wanted the city to let the Nuggets out of their lease so they could move into a new stadium: today’s Ball Arena.

Leiweke is also known for helping bring the Quebec Nordiques to Denver, creating the Colorado Avalanche. His involvement with both teams ended before the Kroenke family bought in as owners.

Though Leiweke was away from Denver for a brief stint after leaving the Nuggets, he soon returned as president and CEO of Anschutz Entertainment Group, founded by Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz. Leiweke worked at AEG for eighteen years up until March 2013, when a proposed sale of the company fell through.

In 2015 Leiweke co-founded Oak View Group, which relocated its headquarters to Denver in 2024. According to the company website, the group manages 400 arenas globally. Hours after the indictment was announced, Leiweke resigned from his role with Oak View Group. In a statement, Lieweke says his resignation was "already underway" as part of a succession plan, and he is stepping away so as not to distract from the accomplishments of the company.

Oak View says the company fully cooperated with the Antitrust Division and is happy no charges were filed against the company.

"We support all efforts to ensure a fair and competitive environment in our industry and are committed to upholding industry-leading compliance and disclosure practices," Oak View says in a statement.

Still, the company is expected to pay a $15 million penalty as part of a non-prosecution agreement with the DOJ. Legends Hospitality, a stadium operations company, will likely pay a $1.5 million penalty in connection with the investigation into Leiweke, according to CNBC.

A spokesperson representing Leiweke says he denies the charges.

“Mr. Leiweke has done nothing wrong and will vigorously defend himself and his well-deserved reputation for fairness and integrity. The Antitrust Division’s allegations are wrong on the law and the facts, and the case should never have been brought. The law is clear: vertical, complementary business partnerships, like the one contemplated between OVG and Legends, are legal. These allegations blatantly ignore established legal precedent and seek to criminalize common teaming efforts that are proven to enhance competition and benefit the public. The Moody Center is a perfect example, as it has resulted in substantial and sustained benefits to the University of Texas and the City of Austin," reads a statement from Lewieke's office.