One of those workers reached out to NewsChannel 5’s Aaron Cantrell and shared his frustrations about security and why he and others are demanding more protections.
“You feel betrayed by the people you’re working for and you’re losing your sense of security,” he said.
The construction worker, who asked to remain anonymous, said he was at the end of his life because of the vandalism near Nissan Stadium.
“About three months ago, around 50 of our cars were broken into,” he said. “That’s when people had guns, and they had cameras.”
After those thefts, Metro Police and the general contractor, Tennessee Builders Alliance (TBA), increased security, he said. However, he said vandalism occurred again last weekend.
“Come to find out, TBA was not hiring security guards for Saturday,” he said. “Their reaction to us was, ‘Oh, the criminals must have gotten smarter and realized we didn’t have security on Saturdays,’ even though we work every Saturday.”
He said employees are working regular 10-hour shifts, but when they return and find that their car windows have been broken, their vehicles have been vandalized and valuables have been stolen.
“Stuff that they inherited from their parents, little personal things – even if they are returned, if you can’t replace what was handed down to you, what’s the value of it?” He said.
Metro Police have confirmed that guns have been stolen from some vehicles in previous incidents.
“It’s not shocking – construction workers and guns go hand in hand,” the activist said.
When asked if removing guns or other valuables could help prevent infiltration, he told NewsChannel 5’s Aaron Cantrell that he did not believe it would.
“One of the cars that was broken into was unlocked,” he said. “They don’t even check to see if it’s unlocked or not – they’re just smashing and grabbing.”
Despite the disappointments, he said the workers were proud to be part of a historic project for Nashville.
“I’m a Titans fan and love being a part of it and coming together,” he said.
But he’s hopeful the city and TBA can come up with a plan to stop break-ins once and for all.
“If you’re worried, ‘Will my car break down today?’ So how can you focus on work? He said.
Metro police said they have stepped up action in Lot N, where vandalism has occurred several times. He plans to move the Skycop surveillance system back to that location and said the Central Precinct has added an additional surveillance system as part of increased security.
Employees told NewsChannel 5 that TBA reimburses them for broken windows, but they said they first have to pay out of pocket — which many described as a significant financial burden.
NewsChannel 5 contacted the Tennessee Builders Alliance for comment.
This story was reported by reporter Aaron Cantrell and converted for this platform with the help of AI. Aaron and our editorial team verify all reporting across all platforms for fairness and accuracy
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This is a story that I immediately took home and told to my boys – young athletes with big dreams. The success of the Vanderbilt football team has grabbed the headlines – what I love about Steve Layman’s story is that it reveals the personal hardships he had to overcome to get there. As Clark Lee says, “We all have bruises on our bodies.” This team proves that persistence pays off!
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