Leiweke And Azoff Launch Oak View Group

Leiweke will serve as OVG’s CEO and Azoff as a board member for the new company, which will be based in Los Angeles.

A major facet of The Oak View Group will include an Arena/Stadium Alliance that will serve select venues that do not need or use venue management companies, providing members with resources to help build sponsorships and develop untapped revenue streams.

“Having worked with Irving for decades, we realized there was an opportunity to do something transformative in our business,” Leiweke said. “At the very heart of what we’re doing is a deep passion for giving the fans of sports, music and live events the very best experience possible – and we’re doing that by empowering arena and stadium owners with the resources and a level of strategic thinking never before accessible.  We will create a business model that is designed to disrupt the normal course of business and one that will Buy, Sell, Book and Think together.”

Azoff praised Leiweke’s skillset and unrivaled strategic approach, adding that “under his leadership we are very confident that Oak View will quickly become a powerful and positive disruptive force in our business.”

OVG’s Arena/Stadium Alliance is already working with venues including Prudential Center, Philips Arena, Madison Square Garden, the Forum and Tampa Bay’s Amalie Arena.

The company also has plans in the works for three additional areas including a sponsorship/partnership division, a consulting division and a venture fund division. The consulting division will advise sports teams, venue owners and entertainment and media properties on new stadium builds and renovations, naming rights and sales and revenue generation, OVG said. The venture fund division is expected to help seed existing and emerging assets in sports, music and live entertainment, with an initial focus on a social media application. 

Dan Griffis, who previously served as VP of marketing for Target, has been named OVG’s executive VP and president of the company’s sponsorship and partnership offshoot, Narrative. Other executives joining the team include Francesca Bodie, who most recently led a private wealth group looking to acquire and NFL team and stadium; Jason Gonella, a former Van Wagner sales exec; and Andrew Feinberg, who comes to OVG from Premier Partnerships where he sold sponsorships and naming rights deals across all 5 major sports leagues.