Oak View Group CEO Tim Leiweke last week “reacquainted himself" with the Greater Toronto Area’s sports community with the "launch of OVG Canada," according to Dave Feschuk of the TORONTO STAR. Among OVG Canada’s first orders of business is a $200M "facelift and adjoining entertainment district for Hamilton’s FirstOntario Centre," the arena formerly known as Copps Coliseum which opened in ‘85 with an “eye toward landing an NHL franchise.” Leiweke insists the project’s "ultimate intention isn't to sell NHL commissioner Gary Bettman on the merits of another team in southern Ontario.” Absorbing Toronto’s "concert overflow" will be at the "core of making it a viable venue.” Leiweke: “We see Hamilton as a relief valve for Toronto, not another competitor for Toronto. We are not building it, designing it or thinking about it with an NHL team in mind.” He also said that there is a “sports facility arms race heating up,” as he predicted Clippers Owner Steve Ballmer, the richest owner in the NBA, is “going to ‘set a whole new level’ with the $2 billion he’s spending" on the team's future home the Intuit Dome. That means that even "extensive upgrades" in Toronto “might not be enough.” Leiweke said that within the next 10 years, the need for new venues “will be inevitable" (TORONTO STAR, 6/11).
