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Leiweke, Beckham Reunion In Works
Tim Leiweke, who said more than a year ago he’d be leaving his post as President/CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, will reportedly join a Miami, Fla., investor group that includes soccer superstar David Beckham.
Beckham’s group seeks to launch an expansion Major League Soccer team in Miami, according to Toronto’s Globe and Mail. Prior to taking the helm at MLSE, Leiweke was CEO of Anschutz Entertainment Group.
The Miami Herald initially reported “sources close to negotiations” said Leiweke is joining management at Beckham’s investment group.
A spokesman for MLSE told the Globe and Mail that “it is one of the options that [Leiweke] is looking at, but not until his work in Toronto is complete,” adding that Leiweke currently remains with the company.
MLSE owns a Toronto MLS team, which would compete with any new Miami franchise. It also owns the NHL’s Maple Leafs and NBA’s Raptors.
Leiweke has a longstanding relationship with Beckham, and has been credited with convincing the British soccer star to join the Los Angeles Galaxy in 2007, when Leiweke was still running AEG.
He joined MLSE about a year after abruptly departing AEG, and announced in August 2014 that he intended to leave the post by June 30 to pursue other opportunities. MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum extended Leiweke’s tenure in May after another CEO candidate was offered, and declined, the position, according to the Globe and Mail.