Anschutz Entertainment Group, Inc. (AEG), also known as AEG Worldwide, is an American global sporting and music entertainment presenter and a subsidiary of the Anschutz Corporation. It is the world's largest owner of sports teams and sports events. Under the AEG Presents brand, it is the world's second-largest presenter of live music and entertainment events, after Live Nation. AEG Presents was founded in 2002 as AEG Live.
AEG owns and operates a variety of venues, sport teams, and entertainment concerns. For venues, AEG owns and operates Crypto.com Arena and Dignity Health Sports Park, and managed the XL Center and Rentschler Field. In England, it operates The O2 which includes a 20,000 capacity arena. As part of the development of The O2, Anschutz also purchased the London river service company Thames Clippers, and supported the development of the nearby David Beckham Academy (which also had a branch at the then known Home Depot Center). The company had its headquarters in Downtown Los Angeles.
In sports teams, the company owns the Los Angeles Galaxy, Los Angeles Kings, Ontario Reign, Eisbären Berlin with Uber Arena, and 23.5% of Hammarby IF. AEG sold off its minority stake in the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Sparks in 2021. AEG also owned Hamburg Freezers before ceasing its existence in 2016. The company also purchased the Champions on Ice figure skating tour in 2006, and own 12% of Djurgårdens IF Hockey. The company makes a significant amount of its money by leveraging its sports interests, already significant earners, by using the stadiums in which these teams play to host various other entertainment events, most notably concerts. Philip Anschutz created the company by buying up several small local promoters in Los Angeles in order to fill up the schedule for his new sports venue, Staples Center. These included ConcertsWest and Goldenvoice, which had been founded by Gary Tovar, and promotes the annual Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. AEG was the second-largest event promoter in the United States.
AEG Presents, previously AEG Live, came to international public attention in 2009 when it acted as the promoter for Michael Jackson's This Is It concerts. Jackson died just three weeks before the series of 50 concerts were due to begin. Members of Jackson's family have said that they would like to see an investigation, in general, into the role of AEG Live in the final weeks of his life, and also, in particular, into the role of the personal advisers and representatives whom they believe the promoters put in place for him.
On September 18, 2012, the Anschutz Corporation announced its intent to sell Anschutz Entertainment Group and its holdings. The company has retained financial advisors Blackstone Advisory Partners to assist in AEG's sale process. There had been some concerns about the sale as AEG was instrumental in the development of Farmers Field, a planned football stadium in Downtown Los Angeles that was intended to attract an NFL team to the city. Approval to begin construction of Farmers Field in 2013 for a 2016 completion was in the process of being finalized at the time that AEG's sale was announced. In 2015, plans for Farmers Field were abandoned when then St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke announced plans for a stadium of his own.
On March 14, 2013, Anschutz that announced AEG was no longer for sale and that it was changing CEOs. Tim Leiweke (CEO since 1996) left the firm; John Skorjanec was named VP of National Media Accounts with Dan Beckerman heading AEG.
AEG's primary subsidiary AEG Facilities merged with its rival venue operator SMG in October 2019, forming ASM Global.
December 2000: Concerts West, Los Angeles
March 2001: Goldenvoice, Los Angeles
AEG owns Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, and Barclays Arena in Hamburg. Additionally, AEG operates The O2 Arena in London, Uber Arena in Berlin, T-Mobile Center in Kansas City, Target Center in Minneapolis, Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland Arena in Oakland, Shell Energy Stadium in Houston, The Theatre at Grand Prairie in Dallas, and SNHU Arena in Manchester (New Hampshire).
Anschutz's investment in the O2, through his company Anschutz Entertainment Group, previously resulted in his involvement in controversy related to the possible influence of former British Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott in the award of the "super casino" license by the British government. Anschutz knew Prescott personally, having had him as a guest for a two-night stay at Anschutz's ranch in 2005 and footing the bill for hospitality and gifts. In January 2007, the "super casino" license was awarded to a group in Manchester, rather than to Blackpool or London. Anschutz spent £50m on the Manchester Arena and the winner of the casino licence is a close ally of Anschutz, Sol Kerzner.
In August 2007, AEG announced plans with Harrah's Entertainment to build a privately financed 20,000-seat arena in Paradise, Nevada on the Las Vegas Strip on Harrah's land located directly behind the Bally's Las Vegas and Paris Las Vegas resorts. The informal partnership was dissolved the following year.
In October 2011, AEG reached an agreement with Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras and WTorre to manage São Paulo's then-upcoming Arena Palmeiras.
In September 2013, it was announced that AEG Facilities, a stand-alone affiliate of AEG, had signed a 15-year contract to operate Wembley Arena in London.
AEG Live partnered with MGM Resorts International to build the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, which opened in April 2016.
AEG Ogden, a joint venture with Australian investors, managed sports venues and convention centres in Australia and Asia, including the International Convention Centre Sydney, Lang Park and Sydney SuperDome.
Anschutz was one of the co-founders and one of the lead investors of Major League Soccer. In 1996, he became the investor/operator of the Colorado Rapids, his first MLS franchise. The Rapids were then a subsidiary of the Anschutz Corporation. In subsequent years, as Anschutz acquired additional sports teams, it led to the formation of a new division of the company whose focus was sports and entertainment, leading directly to the creation of AEG, with the Rapids and National Hockey League's (NHL) Los Angeles Kings as its original members.
Since 1996, AEG has held ownership in the Chicago Fire, San Jose Earthquakes, New York/New Jersey MetroStars, D.C. United and Houston Dynamo. Currently, AEG is the operator of the Los Angeles Galaxy.