President Donald Trump spilled a new detail on the location of UFC’s upcoming event at the White House, which is part of America’s 250th birthday celebration.
The UFC’s highly anticipated showcase is set to take place on the White House South Lawn on June 14, coinciding with Trump’s 80th birthday.
While signing executive orders in the Oval Office on Friday, Trump told reporters that “we’re building literally a stadium” for the event. He said it will hold around 100,000 attendees, but did not provide any further details.
His comments came as he directed the launch of an IndyCar race — dubbed the “America250 Grand Prix” — on the streets of Washington, D.C., for the anniversary, which he said will span from Aug. 21-23.
“I won’t even say how many people, because I think this could set a record for racing,” Trump said. “It’s going to be very, very important.”
The executive order, signed by Trump, instructs the secretaries of the Interior and Transportation departments, working in coordination with Mayor Muriel Bowser’s office, to properly maintain a race route including any roads, trails or bridges. The race will “showcase the majesty of our great city as drivers navigate a track around our iconic national monuments,” according to the order.
Although a list of participants in the UFC match has not yet been publicized, Trump announced last month that it is looking to hold “eight or nine championship fights.”
Earlier this month, UFC’s Dana White said that the event could include up to 5,000 spectators on the lawn, in addition to about 85,000 people watching nearby at the Ellipse — meaning Trump’s estimate of in-person viewers could exceed that prediction.
“My focus is to find the best up-and-coming talent in the world, do the best matchmaking to put on the best fights possible, give people the best live event in-house and on TV,” White, a longtime friend of the president, told The Wall Street Journal in an interview released last week. “And as long as I don’t mess those up, it’s tough to blow it.”
In the interview, White gave credit to Trump for putting his mixed martial arts organization on the map. He described the president as a “huge fight fan,” saying that Trump reached out when the company was first purchased in 2001.
At the time, Trump hoped to bring the combat sport to his now-shuttered Taj Mahal casino and resort in Atlantic City, according to the UFC chief.
“And we went,” White said. “Now, to be able to go and put it on event at the White House is just absolutely mind boggling.”
When asked if he had any concerns about sending the “wrong message” through the event in the nation’s capital, White said that fighting has continued to remain a staple in both U.S. and world culture.
And while speaking to the Sports Business Journal this week, White said that UFC is not asking for taxpayer funds to help offset any costs. In October, he said that his organization may spend as much as $700,000 to fix the grass on the lawn following the event.
“We’re eating the whole thing,” White said in the recent interview. “So yeah, it’s going to be a historic one-of-one fight, and just like I talked about with the Sphere, we’re going to make the Sphere look like f—ing ashtray money.”
