Oak View Group, led by former MLSE CEO, would put $50M into Hamilton arena renovation
Published August 4, 2022 at 11:18 am
The Tim Leiweke-helmed Oak View Group wants to invest at least $50 million into the redevelopment of FirstOntario Centre, although that requires City of Hamilton approval.
The matter of the global sports and entertainment firm, which has built two new NHL arenas, partnering with the Hamilton Urban Precinct Entertainment Group (HUPEG) on the arena renovation is already public knowledge. But now there is a specific dollar figure attached since the OVG-HUPEG partnership requires that a division of the former be the primary lessee. Making that reality will require some dotting of i’s and crossing of t’s since HUPEG signed the master agreement last year that got Hamilton taxpayers out of the entertainment business.
“The nature of the partnership between OVG and HUPEG necessitates that the head lessee be an OVGcontrolled entity, which is currently not available to HUPEG under the Master Agreement,” says a staff report that will be presented to elected representatives on the general issues committee (GIC) on Monday.
“HUPEG is seeking to partner with OVG for the redevelopment of FirstOntario Centre and FirstOntario Concert Hall, whereby OVG will increase the minimum investment of HUPEG’s original $50 Million to a minimum of $100 Million for the redevelopment of the FirstOntario Centre, and will bring its considerable financial and more importantly market clout to the renovation and operation of the renovated facilities.”
Leiweke, the former president and chief executive officer of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), co-founded OVG in 2015 and serves as its chairman and CEO. In June, OVG founded a Canadian division, OVG Canada, and promptly signed Canada Basketball as its first client.
Three weeks later, Canada Basketball held a FIBA men’s basketball World Cup qualifying game at FirstOntario Centre on Canada Day (July 1). Even though it was a holiday and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats were playing a home game at the same time, a sellout crowd of over 6,000 turned out watch Canada, led by Hamilton native and Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, defeat the Dominican Republic.
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The arena renovation is part of an overall $500-million project to modernize the entertainment district in downtown Hamilton, which was mostly designed in the 1980s when then-Copps Coliseum and Hamilton Place were built.
The staff report says OVG is involved with “the development and activation of street level commercial operations and opportunities on the north and west York/Bay street level retail spaces” and “the significant predominantly event level and lower bowl transformation.” There is no specific reference to the eventual seating capacity the arena would have for concerts and sports events such as basketball, hockey and lacrosse.
It has been expected that the seating capacity of the overhauled arena will be less than the current 17,383, which was built to 1980s NHL standards. Hamilton is not considered to be a viable city for an NHL franchise.
The work is expected to begin as soon as possible after the Hamilton Bulldogs and Toronto Rock complete their 2022-23 seasons. They and the other sports tenant, the Hamilton Honey Badgers of the Canadian Elite Basketball League, would likely need temporary venues for at least one season.
Oak View Group operates Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, which the home of two big-league teams, hockey’s Kraken and basketball’s Seattle Storm. It is also a partner in the UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y., which is home of the New York Islanders, and an 15,000-seat arena in Austin, Texas that is home of the University of Texas basketball teams.
The US$1.15B redevelopment project with the Seattle arena involved using existing materials. The roof from the former KeyArena in Seattle was kept and architects lowered the arena floor in order to create room for modern events and seating.
— with files from The Canadian Press
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