Richard A. Peddie | |
---|---|
CEO and President of MLSE | |
In office October 1998 [1] –December 31, 2011 [2] | |
Preceded by | new post |
Succeeded by | Tom Anselmi - as President |
Personal details | |
Born | January 1947 Windsor,Ontario |
Nationality | Canadian |
Residence | Toronto |
Alma mater | University of Windsor |
Richard A. Peddie (born January 1947 [3] ) is a Canadian businessman. He is the former president and CEO of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment.
Peddie was president and CEO of SkyDome from August 1989 to 1994. [1] [4] [5] [6] In 1993,he took a leave of absence for six months to join Larry Tanenbaum's Palestra Group,which included Labatt,in their pursuit of an expansion National Basketball Association team for Toronto, [1] [4] [6] [7] which was ultimately awarded to a competing group and became the Toronto Raptors. While employed by the SkyDome,he was twice offered the head job of the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League,who played at the SkyDome. [4]
Peddie was named the president and COO of Labatt Communications in 1994,a subsidiary of Labatt Brewing Company whose assets included The Sports Network and Discovery Channel Canada. [1] [5] [6] During his time with Labatt's,which also owned the Argonauts and Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball,he was involved with attempts by the company to purchasing a National Football League team and relocate it to Toronto's SkyDome. [8] [9]
Richard Peddie was named president and CEO of the Toronto Raptors in November 1996. [5] [6] [10] After Maple Leaf Gardens Ltd. (owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs) purchased the Toronto Raptors and the arena the team was building,Air Canada Centre,on February 12,1998, [11] Peddie took control of the renamed Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment in October 1998, [1] serving as president and CEO for fourteen years until his retirement effective December 31,2011. [2] [7] He oversaw all business and team operations related to the Toronto Maple Leafs,the Toronto Raptors,Toronto FC,the Toronto Marlies,the operations of the Air Canada Centre,BMO Field,Ricoh Coliseum,the organization's three television channels (Leafs TV,NBA TV Canada,GolTV Canada) and Maple Leaf Square.
In his first nine years in charge of MLSE,its value tripled to $1.5 billion. [12] On December 9,2011,shortly before Peddie retired,the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its 79.53% majority stake in MLSE to Bell Canada and Rogers Communications,in a deal valued at $1.32 billion. [13] [14]
Richard Peddie now owns and operates an independent book store called "River Bookshop" in the town of Amherstburg,Ontario,Canada. [15]
Born in Windsor,Ontario,Peddie graduated from the University of Windsor in 1970 and received an honorary doctorate from the institution in 2001. Peddie lives in Amherstburg with his wife.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The club is owned by Maple Leaf Sports &Entertainment,a company that owns several professional sports teams in the city,while the team's broadcasting rights are split between BCE Inc. and Rogers Communications.
Rogers Centre is a retractable roof stadium in downtown Toronto,Ontario,Canada,situated at the base of the CN Tower near the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989 on the former Railway Lands,it is home to the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). As well as being improved over the decades,during the MLB offseasons of 2022–24,the stadium was renovated by upgrading the sports facilities and hospitality whilst reducing the capacity for baseball games. While it is primarily a sports venue,the stadium also hosts other large events such as conventions,trade fairs,concerts,travelling carnivals,circuses and monster truck shows.
The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto,Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Founded in 1873,the team is the oldest existing professional sports team in North America still using its original name,as well as the oldest-surviving team in both the modern-day CFL and East Division. The team's origins date back to a modified version of rugby football that emerged in North America in the latter half of the 19th century. The Argonauts played their home games at Rogers Centre from 1989 until 2016,when the team moved to BMO Field,the fifth stadium site to host the team.
Scotiabank Arena,formerly known as Air Canada Centre (ACC),is a multi-purposed arena located on Bay Street in downtown Toronto,Ontario,Canada. It is the home of the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL). In addition,the minor league Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the Raptors 905 of the NBA G League play occasional games at the arena. The arena was previously home to the Toronto Phantoms of the Arena Football League (AFL) and the Toronto Rock of the National Lacrosse League. Scotiabank Arena also hosts other events,such as concerts,political conventions and video game competitions.
Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto,Ontario,Canada. The building was originally constructed in 1931 as an indoor arena to host ice hockey games.
Maple Leaf Sports &Entertainment Ltd. (MLSE) is a professional sports and commercial real estate company based in Toronto,Ontario,Canada. With assets that include franchises in four of the six major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada,it is the largest sports and entertainment company in Canada,and one of the largest in North America.
Lawrence M. Tanenbaum is a Canadian businessman and chairman of Maple Leaf Sports &Entertainment (MLSE). He owns a 25% stake in MLSE through his holding company Kilmer Sports Inc.
BMO Field is an outdoor stadium located at Exhibition Place in Toronto,Ontario,Canada. Constructed on the former Exhibition Stadium site and first opened in 2007,it is the home field of Toronto FC of Major League Soccer (MLS) and Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL). BMO Field is owned by the City of Toronto and managed by Maple Leaf Sports &Entertainment,which owns both Toronto FC and the Argonauts. The stadium's naming rights are held by the Bank of Montreal,which is commonly branded as "BMO". It is one of two Canadian stadiums which will host matches of the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup. An expansion for the tournament will bring the stadium's capacity to 45,736 seats.
Robert "Rob" Babcock was an American basketball executive. He served as a Vice President of Basketball Operations with the Minnesota Timberwolves of the NBA,and also as general manager of the Toronto Raptors from 2004 to 2006.
Maple Leaf Square is a multi-use complex and public square located in the South Core neighbourhood of Toronto,Ontario,Canada. It is located to the west of the Scotiabank Arena on the former Railway Lands. The $500 million development was jointly developed by Cadillac Fairview,Lanterra and Maple Leaf Sports &Entertainment (MLSE),who own the nearby Scotiabank Arena. The complex has 1,800,000 square feet (170,000 m2) of usable space covering 2.1 acres (0.85 ha) on one city block.
The city of Toronto,Ontario,Canada,has a long history of sport. It is home to a number of clubs,including the Granite Club,the Royal Canadian Yacht Club,the Toronto Cricket,Skating and Curling Club,the Argonaut Rowing Club,Toronto Argonauts football club,the Toronto Lawn Tennis Club,and the Badminton and Racquet Club. A number of heritage venues have developed in Toronto such as:Christie Pits,Coca-Cola Coliseum,Varsity Arena,and Maple Leaf Gardens. Toronto is also the location of the Canadian Football League's headquarters.
The National Football League (NFL) has been playing games in Toronto,Ontario,Canada,since 1959 when an interleague game between the Chicago Cardinals of the NFL and the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League (CFL) took place at Exhibition Stadium. Subsequently,a number of neutral site preseason and regular season games between NFL teams have been staged in the city. Toronto is one of six cities outside the United States,along with London,Mexico City,Frankfurt,São Paulo,and Munich,which have hosted regular season NFL games.
George Alexander Cope is a Canadian businessman,and the former CEO of Bell Canada.
The Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) is a Canadian public pension fund,headquartered in Toronto,Ontario. OMERS is a defined benefit,jointly sponsored,multi-employer public pension plan created in 1962 by Ontario provincial statute to administer retirement benefits and manage pension investment funds of local government employees in the Canadian province of Ontario. As of December 31,2022,OMERS had C$124 billion of assets under management. OMERS serves over 1,000 participating employers and more than half a million active,deferred and retired employees. OMERS members are employed by municipalities,school boards,transit systems,local electrical distribution companies,police service boards,fire fighting and paramedic services,children's aid societies and associated local agencies,boards and commissions.
Timothy J. Leiweke is an American businessman who is the chief executive officer of Oak View Group. He was the former president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports &Entertainment (MLSE) and the former president and CEO of Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG). He held roughly a 4% stake in AEG as of 2012,and is well known for his relationship with notoriously reclusive AEG founder and Denver-based billionaire Philip Anschutz,whom he has known since the early 1990s. Since November 2015,Leiweke has been the CEO of Oak View Group,"a global advisory,development,and investment company for the sports and live entertainment industries".
Tom Anselmi is a Canadian sports executive. He is currently employed by the OEG serving as the President of Business Operations and Chief Operating Officer. He had previously served as a Business Manager with the Ottawa Senators and as the President and Chief operating officer for Maple Leaf Sports &Entertainment from 2011 to 2013. Anselmi is an alumnus of Ryerson Polytechnical Institute and University of Saskatchewan.
Keith W. Pelley is a sports executive who is the president &CEO of Maple Leaf Sports &Entertainment (MLSE). He has previously served as &president of the PGA European Tour,the CEO of Rogers Media,team president of the Toronto Argonauts,the president of The Sports Network (TSN).
The OVO Athletic Centre,formerly the BioSteel Centre and the Toronto Raptors Training Centre,is a basketball practice facility in Toronto,Ontario,Canada. Opened on February 10,2016,the facility is home to the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA),and owned by the team's owner,Maple Leaf Sports &Entertainment (MLSE). It is located on leased public land in Exhibition Place,near Dufferin Street and the Gardiner Expressway,west of downtown. It is named for October's Very Own,the Canadian lifestyle brand founded by Aubrey "Drake" Graham,Oliver El-Khatib,and Noah "40" Shebib.
Michael Friisdahl is the executive chairman of Signature Aviation,a multinational aviation services company. Friisdahl was appointed in February 2022 after previously serving as the president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports &Entertainment. He was responsible for overseeing MLSE's sports properties which includes ownership of the Toronto Maple Leafs,Toronto Raptors,Toronto FC,Toronto Argonauts,Toronto Marlies,Raptors 905 and Toronto FC II.