AEG boss describes convention hotel’s painful birth

Tim Leiweke, chief executive of the sports and entertainment empire AEG, has been involved in some big deals. But no project compares with the challenge of building a convention hotel, he told a group of city leaders on Tuesday.

“Hardest project I’ve ever done in my life. Period,” Leiweke said.

Standing in the seating bowl of the Sprint Center, which AEG manages, Leiweke talked about the $965-million convention hotel AEG is building in Los Angeles. AEG made the “big bet,” as Leiweke called it, in order to maximize its investments in downtown L.A. AEG operates the Staples Center (home of the Lakers), the Nokia Theatre (site of the recent Emmys) and the L.A. Live entertainment district.

Leiweke addressed the members of the city’s Convention Hotel Steering Committee. He encouraged city leaders to find a way to make a 1,000-room convention hotel happen. At the same time, the man who guaranteed the Sprint Center an anchor tenant warned: “This project is not for the faint of heart.”