Trump Pushes 87-Foot UFC Arena as Permanent White House Fixture
Updated
Updated · Forbes · Jun 3
Trump Pushes 87-Foot UFC Arena as Permanent White House Fixture
3 articles · Updated · Forbes · Jun 3
Summary
An 87-foot steel-and-wire-mesh arena built for the June 14 UFC Freedom 250 event could stay on the White House South Lawn permanently, Trump said in an Oval Office TikTok video.
Trump argued the structure is "quite attractive" and likened it to the Eiffel Tower, which he said was kept because people decided they liked it.
The arena is being erected for a fight card on Trump's 80th birthday, with 4,300 invited seats on the lawn and another 75,000 to 100,000 spectators expected at nearby Ellipse Park.
UFC has said it would spend $700,000 to repair South Lawn grass after removal, but Trump's latest comments extend a broader push to remake historic Washington sites.
That campaign already includes a 90,000-square-foot White House ballroom, Rose Garden paving and other proposed memorial changes, drawing lawsuits and criticism from preservation groups.