AEG Sale Off; Tim Leiweke Steps Down As L.A.-Based CEO

By Dennis Romero Thu., Mar. 14 2013 at 10:51 AM

Tim Leiweke

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa weighs in, at the bottom.

The for sale sign outside the door of Anschutz Entertainment Group, owner of Staples Center, LA Live and London's 02 arena, has been taken down, the company announced.

Not only that but Tim Leiweke, the company's L.A.-based president and CEO and the architect of plans to build a $1.5 billion stadium next to LA Live, is out "by mutual agreement," the company stated this morning.

The sale had called the stadium plans into question:

Why would some one want to pay $8 billion for a company, including a concert promoter and interest in sports teams including the Lakers, Kings and Galaxy, when it's planning to build a $1 billion-plus stadium?

Leiweke, along with sports agent Casey Wasserman, took an active role in selling the stadium plan successfully to the L.A. City Council and to the public. It's not clear if the project will move forward under AEG's new regime.

Philip F. Anschutz, the Denver-based billionaire who basically owns the company, "will resume a more active role" in AEG's affairs, the company stated.

He says:

From the very beginning of the sales process, we have made it clear to our employees and partners throughout the world that unless the right buyer came forward with a transaction on acceptable terms we would not sell the Company.

[Added at 3:24 p.m.]: Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa today called on AEG to step up its efforts to find an NFL team to move to L.A. His statement in full:

For the past three years, the City has expedited our process and lived up to our end of a deal to bring the NFL to Los Angeles and create a world-class convention center.
Now that AEG is no longer for sale and they have indicated that bringing an NFL team to LA remains a priority, I call on AEG to live up to its commitment by immediately sitting down with the NFL to reach an agreement.

However, the City will not wait for AEG, or any other party, to move ahead with the needed improvements to make our convention center a premier destination for meetings and conventions. Last year, we saw a record number of visitors come to Los Angeles and those visitors help drive our economy, fill our hotel rooms and take advantage of the numerous sports and entertainment options that we offer.

We will continue to pursue the important work of making Downtown LA a better place to work, live, visit and dine regardless of whether the NFL and AEG reach that agreement.

I am directing the CAO to provide me options within the next 30 days that provide a path forward to ensure that the convention center modernization project moves ahead no matter what.

[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]

Tags:

AEG, Farmer's Field, Phil Anschutz, Tim Leiweke

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abramsrl

    Who knows what really is going on behind closed doors. Over a billion dollars is at stake so I expect the fact the city is functionally bankrupt plays a significant role.

   AEG bought the legislature and the courts so that it can ignore the environmental laws. Judges are a dime of dozen, but I suspect the legislators charged more. For some reason, the oligarchs did not bother to give me the details about who got what so I guess I am reading tea leaves.

   However, let’s look at what can derail the Stadium no matter how many city councilmembers, legislators and judges have been bought. The City is functionally bankrupt. Where will LA get the billion or so which AEG and the NFL want from the city?

   The corrupt CRA/LA is dead and its illegal scion, the Economic Development department, lacks the hundreds of millions needed each year to bring an NFL team to LA.

   Prop A failed so the city won’t have those extra tax payer dollars to give to AEG and the NFL. Tony V has already admitted that we did not need the extra sales tax from Prop A? What this admission? Again to the tea leaves and they say that now is the time to pretend that the city has plenty of cash so the mayor and city council can pretend that the city can afford to give huge financial breaks to AEG. Villaraigosa and Garcetti used this same Accounting Control Fraud [ACF] to loot the LAFD of $200 Million a couple years ago. With ACF, those in control of the accounting misrepresent how well a business or a city is doing in order to justify siphoning off hundreds of millions of dollars to developers. ENRON was excellent at this ploy, reporting bogus income to justify giving Ken Lay and other officers hundreds of millions of dollar. Since Prop A was rejected, the City appears to be switching gears to an ACF where the City will have extra revenue and will be able to bestow huge gifts on billionaire and right wing homophobic bigot, Philip Anshutz.

   Then consider the Unions. By under funding the union trust funds, we face huge out of pocket costs in the next few years. If Greuel is mayor, she will favor the public service employee Unions over AEG. If Garcetti is elected, he will side with the developers, but all hell will break lose when he cuts union benefits while shoveling hundreds of millions more dollars to AEG. Also, Garcetti and Wesson have their current gaggle of developers to support from the city treasury.

   LA is functionally bankrupt because it cannot pay its basic bills, e.g. paramedics, firemen, police, fix roads, sidewalks, provide parks, upgrade water mains. Because LA is a city, it cuts services to disguise that its functionally bankrupt. If an individual lacks medical services, he dies. When LA cuts paramedics, the mayor and council president do not die. Some poor smuck living in the Hills or some kid on a playground dies.

   So just where will the City get the one billion dollars that AEG and NFL want in order to bring a team to LA?