Oak View Group Completes Spectra Acquisition

“Now that?OVG’s acquisition of Spectra is?complete, we can get down to the business of?delivering?an expanded?highly competitive set of services that anticipate and meet?the?evolving needs?of our global client base,” OVG CEO?Tim Leiweke said in the announcement . “We’ll begin the important process of?fully?integrating?the talented team at Spectra and bringing together our two organizations to create something truly?extraordinary in the?live events and entertainment industry.”

Oak View Group owns Pollstar and sister publication VenuesNow.

The initial acquisition agreement was announced Aug. 30. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. ?OVG?will?remain?headquartered in?Los Angeles, with the headquarters for Spectra remaining in Philadelphia.

The companies are well under way toward integrating, with Chris Granger?taking the role of CEO of OVG Facilities effective Dec. 1, overseeing the division focused on full-service venue management,?event programming as well as food & beverage solutions with the Spectra acquisition.

Between Spectra’s venue management, food service and corporate partnerships, the Philadelphia-based company has a presence in some 320 arenas, stadiums, convention centers and other venues. It has about 70 facility management clients including Cotton Bowl Stadium, Chicago’s Navy Pier and Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.

Getting a strong and immediate foothold in the food and beverage industry was a clear priority for OVG, as Leiweke explained when the deal was announced.

“The combination of the two entities will allow us to be much more competitive and allow the industry to have much more choice, and in particular, allow us to compete with the dominant player in the business today, which is ASM Global,” Leiweke told VenuesNow when the deal was announced in late August.

Spectra’s 135 food deals extend to multiple MLS venues, several college sports facilities and a few MLB spring training parks. Dave Scott, chairman and CEO of Comcast Spectacor said it’s Spectra’s biggest division in terms of individual accounts.

“We always had a running dialogue (with Spectra) about the business,” Leiweke said. “When we started our facility management business a few years ago, we had a conversation with them so they were aware that we were jumping into it. We reignited the conversation about three months ago and began to realize that the merger of the two companies made a lot of sense because they were extremely compatible.”

The announcement comes as OVG recently opened Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, with its first public concert coming Oct. 22 with Coldplay. Meanwhile, OVG’s UBS Arena in Elmont Park, N.Y., which hosts the New York Islanders home opener tomorrow night (Nov. 20), stages its first concert, with Harry Styles, Nov. 28. The company’s other projects include Moody Center in Austin, Texas; New Arena in Coachella Valley, Calif.; Co-op Live in Manchester, UK; as well as arena projects in São Paulo, Brazil, and Hamilton, Ontario.