Scott O’Neil, the former Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment CEO, is close to signing on as LIV Golf’s next CEO, according to people familiar with the matter. O’Neil would be replacing golf legend Greg Norman in the role.

O’Neil returns to the sports world after serving as the CEO of Merlin Entertainments, the world’s second-largest theme park operator after Disney, for the past two years. With over 140 global attractions, Merlin runs Legoland, Madame Tussauds, Sea Life and the London Eye. Sky News reported that O’Neil had left Merlin for an undisclosed role on Wednesday.

LIV Golf did not immediately respond to a request for comment. O’Neil declined to comment.

Initially hired as the Sixers CEO by owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer in 2013, O’Neil had oversight of the basketball franchise for only a month when the ownership duo purchased the Devils. O’Neil worked as HBSE’s chief executive for eight years before resigning in 2021, telling Sportico at the time: “I’m not riding off into the sunset. I like big opportunity.”

During O’Neil’s tenure, the values of both the 76ers and Devils skyrocketed. Harris and Blitzer bought the Sixers for $280 million, and the franchise is now valued at $44.3 billion, according to Sportico’s NBA team valuations. The Devils, which Harris and Blitzer bought for $320 million in 2013, are valued at $1.7 billion according to Sportico’s latest NHL franchise valuations.

Before joining the HBSE orbit, O’Neil served as president of Madison Square Garden for four years and spent nearly a decade in the NBA’s team marketing and business operations office.

Funded by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, LIV Golf Investments hired Norman, the two-time PGA major winner, as its first CEO in October 2021. The golf circuit has faced heavy criticism since its inception, with accusations of sportswashing as it lured PGA Tour players including Dustin Johnson and Jon Rahm. LIV and the PGA engaged in a public war of words over the new circuit’s first two years until both sides came to a surprise “framework agreement” (along with the DP World Tour) in June 2023. That merger has yet to come to fruition.

Sports Business Journal was the first to report that O’Neil was a candidate for the role.