Oak View plans first overseas arena in Milan

Article by Coliseum, published July 9, 2019

Image: Milano Santa Giulia

Venue development, advisory and investment company the Oak View Group (OVG) is to construct and operate a new arena (Santa Giulia Arena) in Milan, Italy, according to media reports. OVG has partnered with Live Nation to build and run the arena, which will host sports and entertainment events.

The privately funded Santa Giulia Arena marks OVG’s first project outside the United States and follows the launch of OVG International in March this year. OVG has inked heads of terms agreements with Italy-based property firms Risanamento and Lendlease to construct and operate the venue.

Oak View Group was founded in 2015 by Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff. The company was reported to have received $100m investment from technology investment firm Silver Lake at the start of 2018.

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In addition to major arena development projects at the Key Arena in Seattle, Belmont in New York, and The University of Texas in Austin, Oak View Group runs the Arena and Stadium Alliance.

The alliance is an invitation-only partnership of 28 arenas in the United States that enables independent venues to attract global sponsorship opportunities, additional events and content.

Tim Leiweke, co-founder and Chief Executive of Oak View Group, said: “We’re delighted to announce our first European partnership, bringing a state-of-the-art entertainment facility to Milan.

“The new arena will be an exciting addition for the city and an important part of hosting what would be an inspiring 2026 Winter Olympics. Oak View Group and Live Nation have years of experience working together and are the ideal partners to deliver and run the Santa Giulia Arena. We’re looking forward to working with Risanamento and Lendlease as part of their major regeneration project, and to announcing more European partnerships soon.”

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