Tod Leiweke becomes chief executive officer of Tampa Bay Lightning

Tod Leiweke has been named Chief Executive Officer of Tampa Bay Sports and Entertainment and its subsidiaries, the National Hockey League’s (NHL) Tampa Bay Lightning and the St. Pete Times Forum. Leiweke will also become an Alternate Governor to the National Hockey League’s Board of Governors for the Lightning and, subject to approval by the NHL, will acquire an ownership stake in Tampa Bay Sports and Entertainment.

Leiweke comes to Tampa Bay from Seattle, where he has served the past seven years as CEO of the National Football League’s (NFL) Seattle Seahawks and President of Vulcan Sports, providing oversight of the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) Portland Trail Blazers and Major League Soccer’s (MLS) Seattle Sounders. The Seahawks were believed to be losing money when Leiweke, 50, came on board. They now have sold out 56 straight games. The Trail Blazers have sold out 120 straight, and the Sounders, in their second year, average an MLS-best attendance of 36,159.

“(Owner) Jeff Vinik is a fantastic person and clearly committed to building a championship franchise,” said Leiweke. “I am thrilled to become a part of the Tampa Bay Lightning organization. It is a dream come true to partner with Jeff and work alongside Steve Yzerman, who I regard as one of the modern-day greats of our game. Jeff, (GM) Steve (Yzerman) and I all believe that we can build a Lightning organization that will bring back the winning and pride to the entire Tampa Bay community. I envision a day when the Lightning will regularly play in front of sold-out crowds at the St. Pete Times Forum and be recognized as one of the leading corporate citizens in Tampa Bay.”

Leiweke has also previously been executive vice president of the NHL’s Vancouver Canucks and president of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild.