Austin Directs Local-Hiring Apprenticeships for the New $1.6 Billion Convention Center
The City Council's October 22 resolution directs the City Manager to build apprenticeship paths in rigging, technical production, decorating and carpentry, so Austin workers displaced by the old venue's closure are ready for the new center's 2029 opening.
The Austin City Council has approved a local-hiring resolution for the city's new convention center, directing the City Manager to develop and incentivize a qualified local workforce in certain convention center contracts. The council approved the resolution on October 22, 2026.
The work centers on apprenticeship programs in four trades the venue will need: rigging, technical production, decorating and carpentry. The stated aim is to bridge the gap for workers who lost consistent employment after the old facility ceased operations, and to have a trained local workforce ready for the new venue's launch.
The resolution was agenda item 40, sponsored by Council Members Fuentes, Alter, Qadri, Siegel and Velasquez. It follows a February 2026 Travis County court ruling in the city's favor on the project lawsuit, and construction on the new center began in April 2026.
The new convention center is a $1.6 billion project scheduled to open in early 2029. Specific apprenticeship criteria and qualification requirements have not yet been published; they are expected in upcoming briefings from the City Manager's office, which event-production and skilled-trades businesses in Austin will be watching.
