UFC Readies $60 Million White House Event for 125,000 Guests as Lawsuit Seeks Delay
Updated
Updated · CNN · Jun 11
UFC Readies $60 Million White House Event for 125,000 Guests as Lawsuit Seeks Delay
3 articles · Updated · CNN · Jun 11
Summary
$60 million in court-filed preparations show UFC and the Trump administration building a temporary White House fight venue for about 125,000 attendees, far above Trump's original 20,000-25,000 estimate.
494 portable toilets, 20-30 screened trucks a day and 700-900 subcontractors are being used to install the octagon, lighting, barricades and security infrastructure for events running Friday through Sunday's main card.
The federal government is supplying security, law enforcement and medical services, while UFC is covering production, construction, labor and promotion costs for the televised South Lawn event and Ellipse overflow viewing.
Virginia residents are suing to halt the event, arguing officials wrongly used a US 250th-anniversary exemption to bypass environmental review and permits for what they say is really Trump's 80th-birthday celebration.
Judge Amit Mehta has not set a hearing; organizers say stopping the build now would impose exorbitant costs, with teardown scheduled to begin early Monday and finish by June 23.