Olympia Stadium Corp.

National Labor Relations Board - Board Decisions

Jul 27, 1949

85 N.L.R.B. 389 (N.L.R.B. 1949)

'In the Matter of .OLYMPIA STADIUM CORPORATION, EMPLOYER and
INTERNATIONAL UNION OF OPERATING ENGINEERS, LOCAL No. 547,
A. F. L., PETITIONER
Case No. 7-RC-409.-Decided July 27, 1949
DECISION
AND
ORDER
Upon a petition duly filed, a hearing was held before Cecil Pearl,
hearing officer. The hearing officer's rulings made at the hearing are
free from prejudicial error and are hereby affirmed.
Pursuant to the provisions of Section 3 (b) of the National Labor
Relations Act, the Board had delegated its powers in connection with
this case to a three-member panel consisting of the undersigned Board
members [Members Reynolds, Murdock, and Gray].
Upon the entire record in this case, the Board makes the following
findings :
The Employer, a Michigan corporation, operates the Olympia
Stadium, an indoor sports arena located in Detroit. The stadium
which is open from September through May, is used primarily for
the exhibition of hockey games and is the headquarters for the Em-
ployer's wholly owned subsidiary, the Detroit Hockey Club. The
officers of both are identical. The Club, which fields a hockey team
known as the "Detroit Red Wings," is a member of the National
Hockey League. Other members are clubs in Chicago, New York,
Boston, Montreal, and Toronto. The League's schedule calls for
games on the road and at home., The Club receives no compensation
for games played by the Red Wings in other cities of the League but
retains 95 percent of the gate receipts of games played by the Red
Wings at the stadium 2 Hockey games played at the stadium are
broadcast and televised. The Employer's gross income from May
1948 through February 1949 was $273,541, of which approximately
1 During the 1948-49 season the Club spent $40,562 for transportation of its players
and their luggage to cities in the League.
2 The remaining 5 percent is contributed to the League treasury.
85 N. L. R. B., No. 70.
389
390 . DECISIONS OF NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS BOARD
68 percent was received from the Club for the use of the Stadium for
its professional hockey games.3
During the same period, the Employer's operating expenses, con-
sisting of payments for salaries, supplies, etc., amounted to approxi-
mately $209,000. The supplies, mostly coal, and janitorial and other
maintenance or repair supplies, were all bought in the Detroit area.
The Employer asserts that it is not engaged in commerce within
the meaning of the Act. Although we do not find that the operations
of the Employer are wholly unrelated to commerce, we believe that
the Employer's operations are essentially local in character and that
to assert jurisdiction in this case would not effectuate the policies of
the Act. Accordingly, we shall dismiss the petition.
ORDER
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the petition filed herein be, and it hereby
is, dismissed.
3 The Employer also leases the stadium to other sports exhibitors and, during the same
period, approximately 19 percent of its income was derived from these sources. The re-
maining 13 percent represents receipts from exclusive concessionaire rights granted to
Michigan Sportservice , Inc., a Michigan corporation wholly independent of the Employer.
Since May 1, 1948, Michigan Sportservice , Inc., has paid the Employer approximately
$36,850 out of its gross returns of $ 266,758 for that period , derived from program adver-
tising and sale of food and soft drinks at the stadium. Its printing is all done locally. Its
annual purchases of supplies are approximately $ 86,000 of which $12 ,000 represents
purchases made outside the State.