Amid rumours first broken by Eliotte Friedman of CBC, Tim Leiweke has officially announced through memo that he will be stepping down as chief executive of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, which owns the Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors and Toronto F.C.
Leiweke, former CEO of the Anschutz Entertainment Group, became President and CEO of MLSE on June 30, 2013. The hope was that Leiweke could bring the winning success he found in AEG, who own the Los Angeles Kings, Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Galaxy. He came into the position after Rogers Communications and Bell Canada took a majority 75% share in MLSE.
Leiweke was considered a positive influence on the Toronto F.C. and Toronto Raptors, as their fortunes soon changed under Leiweke’s supervision. Maple Leaf fans felt originally ignored by Leiweke and were unhappy with some of his comments on planning a parade route and removing much of the history in the Air Canada Centre of the Maple Leafs. Despite missing the playoffs, the Toronto Maple Leafs have recently been moving in the right direction department wise with their recent statistics hirings and the hiring of Brendan Shanahan.
According to the release, Leiweke will stay on board until June 30, 2015 or until a successor is named. He was reported to have a five year deal with MLSE. There were rumours he was unhappy living in Toronto.
We will have more information if the story develops.
Photo via o.canada.com
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