[1][4][5][6] In 1993, he took a leave of absence for six months to join Larry Tanenbaum's Palestra Group, which included Labatt, in their pursuit of an expansion National Basketball Association team for Toronto,[1][4][6][7] which was ultimately awarded to a competing group and became the Toronto Raptors.
[1][5][6] During his time with Labatt's, which also owned the Argonauts and Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball, he was involved with attempts by the company to purchasing a National Football League team and relocate it to Toronto's SkyDome.
[5][6][10] After Maple Leaf Gardens Ltd. (owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs) purchased the Toronto Raptors and the arena the team was building, Air Canada Centre, on February 12, 1998,[11] Peddie took control of the renamed Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment in October 1998,[1] serving as president and CEO for fourteen years until his retirement effective December 31, 2011.
[12] On December 9, 2011, shortly before Peddie retired, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan announced the sale of its 79.53% majority stake in MLSE to Bell Canada and Rogers Communications, in a deal valued at $1.32 billion.
[13][14] Richard Peddie now owns and operates an independent book store called "River Bookshop" in the town of Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada.