SMART Local 435 leads the charge for life-changing union careers building Jacksonville Jaguars’ “Stadium of the Future”

Back in spring 2025, SMART Local 435 and organized labor announced a landmark victory in Jacksonville, Florida. Thanks to the unrelenting advocacy of Local 435 and the North Florida Building and Construction Trades Council, in a campaign led by Business Manager Lance Fout, the $1.4 billion Jacksonville Jaguars stadium renovation project included mandatory apprenticeship and local hiring requirements for the stadium and future city-funded developments.

“This is a first in Jacksonville, and hopefully a trend we can continue,” Fout said at the time.

Members mobilize in support of local careers

The campaign started when the stadium project was first announced. Fout, Local 435 and the building trades maintained a constant presence in the halls of power, working to ensure public investment by the city of Jacksonville benefited the local community. Together with fellow union building trades workers, Fout and Local 435 held several rallies, urging the city council to include apprenticeship and local hire requirements in the stadium deal, and turned out more than 100 union members to attend a town hall meeting with Mayor Deegan and Jaguars President Mark Lamping. Members continued to mobilize for future meetings.

This visible show of solidarity and direct engagement with city officials successfully moved the needle from simple interest to legislative action, with the inclusion of the apprenticeship and local hire requirements in the final stadium deal.

But the work didn’t stop there. To implement those requirements, Local 435 led the charge in securing a commitment for up to $675,000 in funding to support union apprenticeship programs in Jacksonville. These robust training programs do more than staff a jobsite; they will transform temporary construction roles into decades-long, middle-class careers for the residents of Duval County.

Construction of the stadium has since started, with union sheet metal contractors already awarded the critical HVAC ductwork and exterior architectural applications. Now, as the project scales toward its 2027 peak intensity and 2028 completion, it serves as a blueprint for how organized labor can secure the future of cities across the United States. Enormous projects can work for the communities in which those projects are built — as long as they create good, well-paying jobs for local community members.   

Fout put it simply when he testified to the Jacksonville City Council: “When we drive by these major projects, we want to see Duval County license plates. Apprenticeship changes lives.”

Thanks to the work of Local 435 and the North Florida labor movement, union apprenticeships will change more and more lives in the county as the “Stadium of the Future” comes to fruition.

Great work, brothers and sisters!

Success Summary:

• Policy Victory: Established mandatory apprenticeship and local hiring requirements for city-funded projects.
• ​Training Investment: Secured a commitment for up to $675,000 to expand and support union apprenticeship programs in Jacksonville.
• ​Collective Mobilization: Maintained a consistent presence of 50+ building trades members (primarily Local 435) at public meetings.
• ​Secured Work Scope: Union contractors officially awarded the HVAC ductwork and exterior architectural metal contracts.
• ​Project Timeline: Construction is underway, peaking in 2027 with a scheduled completion in 2028.