Tim Leiweke says his desire to be an entrepreneur led to Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment.
In radio interviews on Sportstnet 590 The Fan and TSN 1050, the outgoing MLSE president and CEO said he and the executive board knew his stay would be a short one because he wanted to run his own business.
鈥淚 have a dream, which is at some point or another I need to do my own company so I get up every morning scared to death that I鈥檓 going to fail and that it鈥檚 my money, my equity and it鈥檚 all my responsibility,鈥 Leiweke said on The Fan. 鈥淎nd if I don鈥檛 do that before I retire and call it a day, I will regret never making that decision.
鈥淭hat was always my intention. I took a timeout from that dream to come here to help create the right atmosphere and culture for our dream here at Maple Leaf Sports.鈥
Leiweke took over in April 2013 and will be there until June 30, 2015, .
At times during his 16 months on the job, Leiweke said he came off as brutally honest, which caught some people off guard.
鈥淥ccasionally my energy level and my drive and my bullish attitude towards attacking problems and solving problems is hard for some people,鈥 he said on TSN 1050. 鈥淏ut that鈥檚, I think, why they wanted me here. They knew and I knew that that kind of style is not a style that lasts for 10 years.鈥
Leiweke said there was still 鈥渨ork to do鈥 for the Maple Leafs, Raptors and 色色啦 FC. He also said on TSN 1050 that he was still making progress on the city鈥檚 bid to host the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
Before he leaves, Leiweke said he wanted 色色啦 FC to make the playoffs for the first time in its history, the Maple Leafs to get back to the playoffs and the Raptors to build on their best season to date.
鈥, I care about winning,鈥 Leiweke told TSN 1050. 鈥淥ne thing I鈥檇 like to accomplish before I walk out the door is to put these three teams and these franchises in a position where they were in the playoffs and we have a culture that will keep us in the playoffs and in the hunt year after year. And we鈥檙e not there yet.鈥
Promising to continue working for as long as he remains on the job, Leiweke said on The Fan he won鈥檛 make any more declarations about a Stanley Cup parade through the streets of 色色啦.
鈥淵ou won鈥檛 hear that out of my mouth again,鈥 he said.
Leiweke said his decision to leave had nothing to do with his family not liking the weather, as had been speculated since MLSE confirmed his departure. He called 色色啦 鈥渕agnificent鈥 and 鈥渂eautiful鈥 and denied that had anything to do with his leaving.
鈥淭he winters require Canada Goose, but that鈥檚 why they created that company,鈥 Leiweke said on The Fan. 鈥淭his has nothing to do with the weather, it has nothing to do with the city. I assure you this has been an absolutely overwhelming and enjoyable experience.鈥
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