hockeywiz542
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- May 26, 2008
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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/repo...ave-the-maple-leafs/article14983224/?page=all
Tim Leiweke may have one of the hardest jobs in corporate Canada: turning Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment’s sad-sack franchises into legitimate contenders. Though rolling in profit, MLSE has failed to win where it matters: on the ice, on the pitch and on the court. The Leafs have gone 46 years without a Stanley Cup, Toronto FC has yet to produce a winning season, and the Raptors can’t keep talent long enough to build a team.
Enter Leiweke, a 56-year-old, straight-talking St. Louis native who spent the last 17 years shaping Los Angeles-based Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) into a championship factory, with titles from basketball’s Lakers, hockey’s Kings and soccer’s Galaxy. Now, Leiweke’s being asked to do the same for Canada’s richest sports conglomerate. The man doesn’t lack self-confidence. Soon after touching down in Toronto, he began talking about parade routes for the Stanley Cup celebration, and suggested the Leafs take down old photos of former greats and start living in the present. Not surprisingly in sports-mad Toronto, controversy ensued.
Leiweke says he regrets being so bold (well, sort of). But as the new CEO of MLSE, he understands just how big this job is: a complete rebuild of a long-neglected corporate structure. The future of some of MLSE’s key assets may depend on it. Job one, he argues, is for the organization to start acting—and talking—like it wants to win again.