Oak View Group Launches Canadian Division

The Oak View Group has launched a new division focused on the Canadian sports and entertainment industry — OVG Canada.

The formation of OVG Canada will provide strategic services in the areas of venue development and management, booking and content development, sponsorship brand consulting, and third-party partnership sales.

Tom Pistore, president of OVG Canada, will be joined by Senior Vice President of Partnerships and Brand Consulting Josh Epstein and Senior Vice President of Partnerships and Revenue Zach Feldman.

Pistore has more than 25 years working across major professional sports leagues, most recently as president of UBS Arena (home of the NHL’s New York Islanders) and, prior to that, was a member of the Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment executive leadership team.

“Oak View Group Canada will leverage our diverse experience, deep understanding of the Canadian marketplace, and the strength of our global leadership team to provide industry-leading solutions and opportunities to the Canadian market,” Pistore said. “After an exciting journey launching UBS Arena in New York, I could not be more excited to launch OVG Canada alongside a best-in-class leadership team that will deliver incredible results for our present and future partners.”

“During my time running MLSE, I realized that the Canadian sports and facility marketplace is uniquely driven by the Canadian consumer and Canadian companies,” said Tim Leiweke, chairman and chief executive officer of Oak View Group and former president and chief executive officer of MLSE. “With Tom Pistore leading the charge of our OVG Canada group, we want to create the best sports and facility sales organization in Canada.”

Epstein joins OVG Canada from Bank of Montreal where he was responsible for leading their North American sponsorship strategy. Feldman was most recently the senior vice president of partnerships and revenue at the Premier Lacrosse League.