Feature

Oak View Group appoints Hinds to development role

Sports and entertainment company Oak View Group has appointed Sims Hinds as its new vice-president of development.

The VenuesToday website reported that Hinds will work with the OVG Facilities and OVG Arena Alliance divisions in his new role, which will focus on facility development and management.

Hinds has previously worked for venue management company SMG and the AEG Facilities division of sports and entertainment company AEG. He has also worked for The Walt Disney Company, golf’s PGA Tour, the Atlantic Coast Conference and Live Nation.

Hinds said, according to VenuesToday: “If there’s a venue and a market with a lot of potential, we just want to build the relationship. We want to be allowed to grow it, grow the business and build the reputation.

“There are a lot of markets today that are very successful event buildings that, before they were built 10-15 years ago, people didn’t think they were real markets. There are more and more emerging markets around the country with significant growth in population and with the right venue, those markets explode.”

Hinds has worked with OVG co-founders Irving Azoff and Tim Leiweke in the past.

Leiweke, chief executive of OVG, said: “Sims is a titan in our business with unrivalled experience in developing and operating facilities. Many of us at OVG have worked with him for decades and bringing him on board provides considerable added value for the Arena Alliance and all of our partners.”

The appointment comes after OVG last month agreed a deal with the City of Seattle to undertake major renovation work at the KeyArena multi-purpose venue (pictured). It is hoped the arena will serve as the home of an NBA basketball franchise or NHL ice hockey team once renovation work is complete.

Image: Dlz28

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