Oak View Group Starting College Division With Dan Shell At Helm

TIM LEIWEKE’s Oak View Group is starting a new college-focused division that will work with schools on operating, booking and driving revenue from their facilities. Leiweke is bringing on DAN SHELL, a veteran of college sales and properties at IMG and Fox, to lead the division. Shell, an SBJ/SBD “Forty Under 40” honoree in ’15, is expected to start with OVG later this week. The inner workings of the new college business are still being formed, but OVG will primarily look for opportunities with arenas and events centers where it can operate the building, sell, and book concerts and other events. Leiweke described it as being complementary, not competitive, to multimedia rightsholders like Learfield and IMG College that already are selling in the college space. “Dan is the right person to build relationships and find opportunities in college,” Leiweke said. “I think we can make a big difference in what is a relatively untapped marketplace.”