The California-to-Texas pipeline typically involves making money in California and buying a house in Texas. Tim Leiweke put his own spin on the trope: The sports-and-entertainment venue developer made his money in California and got indicted in Texas.
The indictment is history because Leiweke is now the latest beneficiary of President Donald Trump’s clemency, adding a line to a resume that includes prior stints as CEO of Oak View Group, and a stretch serving as top executive for billionaire Philip Anschutz’s AEG Worldwide.
Leiweke is no stranger to attention — he led AEG as it gathered up ownership of the Los Angeles Kings hockey team, LA Galaxy soccer franchise, a piece of the Lakers, plus the L.A. Live entertainment complex and its Crypto.com arena anchor.
His renown turned toward notoriety in Austin, however, where earlier this year he was accused of conspiring with a competitor to rig the bidding process for the $375 million development of the Moody Center, an arena and event venue at the University of Texas at Austin, to benefit Oak View Group. Leiweke promised subcontracting work on the project to the rival company in exchange for dropping its competing bid.
He flagrantly flouted the cardinal rule of business in the Internet age: “don’t put in an email what you wouldn’t want shared on a witness stand in court.” Indeed, he apparently bragged about the scheme in an email, writing, “we were very clever to put together an agreement that scared everyone else away,” the New York Times reported.
Trump’s own Department of Justice charged him with violation of the Sherman Act, the 19th-century antitrust law that prohibits conspiracies to restrain trade. Leiweke was indicted by a federal grand jury in July 2025.
The pardon was announced the day after the firm Leiweki founded named a new CEO, Chris Granger. Leiweke stepped down from his leadership position in June. The company was fined $15 million for its involvement in the scheme. It still manages the arena at the center of the crime.
Mehrdad Moayedi defines DFW real estate swagger
Iranian-American developer and founder of Centurion American Mehrdad Moayedi moved to Fort Worth from Tehran at the age of 15. A half-century later, he’s the most prolific single-family lot developer in North Texas — at the same time that Dallas-Fort Worth exploded into one of the country’s top five metro regions. The uniquely Texan story of his rise and his singular impact (he developed 75,000 acres of single-family lots) have made him an archetype of the North Texas developer.
Robert A.M. Stern’s Lone Star State legacy
Renowned architect Robert A.M. Sterns, who died last month at the age of 86, will be primarily remembered for the condos he designed in New York City and South Florida.
The founder of Robert A.M. Sterns Architects (RAMSA) also garnered recognition for what’s shaping up to be a genre-defining project in Texas. In addition to New York entries such as the Naftali Group’s Bellemont and 15 Central Park West for Arthur and William Lie Zeckendorf, the list of notable Stern-designed projects will soon include Howard Hughes Holdings’ Ritz-Carlton Residences in The Woodlands.
It’s also a project of which Stern was very proud, said Johnny Cruz, a RAMSA partner working on the Ritz. Cruz, who’s been at the firm for 26 years and said Stern was “like family,” called the project “one of his favorites.”
Troubled CRE debt surges in Texas
For months, the value of Texas CRE loans flagged for each monthly foreclosure sale has hovered around $600 million. In December, it shot up to more than $900 million, according to Roddy’s Foreclosure Listing Service.
Of the $911 million in loans scheduled for auction, $659 million is tied to multifamily properties. Plus, multiple loans flagged earlier this year but were never sold appear headed back to auction block, like Charles Cohen’s Houston design center at 5120 Woodway Drive, which was originally headed to auction in June and July.
Vultures circle over Jon Venetos
The founder of Dallas-based Lurin Capital was hit with two new lawsuits from Keybank claiming he defaulted on $24 million in loans, the latest in a passel of default lawsuits against the value-add multifamily investor. In the filings, Keybank not only accuses Venetos of defaulting and letting the properties fall into disrepair; it also claims Venetos transferred $24,570 from his Keybank accounts to a personal account.
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Trump pardons Tim Leiweke on stadium development deal in Texas
Mehrdad Moayedi developed North Texas — and defined DFW real estate swagger
Robert A.M. Stern’s Lone Star State legacy: Genre-defining condo project
Troubled CRE debt surges past $900M for December’s foreclosure sale
Two Keybank lawsuits ratchet up trouble for Jon Venetos, Lurin Capital
