The UFC plans to give away 85,000 tickets for Ufc Freedom 250, a June 14 fight card scheduled for the White House, while another 4,000 people are expected to watch from the South Lawn.
Dana White said the event is taking place on federal land, which means no tickets, hot dogs or T-shirts can be sold there, and that the UFC is paying the full bill. He said during a May 8 appearance on CBS Mornings that the taxpayers are not paying anything.
White said the restrictions are tied to the location, not the size of the crowd. He said the Ellipse Park, across the street from the White House, is expected to hold about 85,000 people watching the fights on large screens, with tickets available through Ticketmaster’s website after registration.
The South Lawn count has also shifted. White previously said 4,300 people would watch there, but he later said 4,000 would be inside the White House grounds. He said President Donald Trump has 1,000 tickets, he has 200, Ariel Emanuel has another 200, and the rest will go to different branches of the military.
The event now rests on a simple tradeoff: access will be wide, but the UFC will not be able to turn the White House setting into a typical live gate. That makes the giveaway of 85,000 tickets the clearest sign of how the promotion is trying to build a spectacle around a place where almost nothing can be sold.
