The once-green lawn on the Ellipse is now colorless and scarred following President Donald Trump’s UFC extravaganza where the famed park served as home for the official viewing party.
An aerial photo taken Friday by a Reuters photographer shows the 52-acre public park nearly entirely covered in yellow grass and dirt, with only a few patches of lush vegetation remaining.
Located just south of the White House, the Ellipse served as a viewing area for Sunday’s UFC Freedom 250 event, where fighters competed in an octagon while President Donald Trump sat ringside. Thousands of spectators filled the park to watch the spectacle on jumbo screens, with the UFC estimating about 85,000 people would attend.
Photos of the park went viral on social media on Friday, with its barren landscape standing in stark contrast to the bright green National Mall — and the Reflecting Pool, which has become engulfed by algae.
“What a f****** mess,” wrote one X user, while another added, “They’re destroying the city, public space by public space.”
A third offered some cheeky advice: “Maybe they can take some of that algae and fill in the dirt.”
Much of the South Lawn, where the fights took place, also contains remnants of the $60 million event, which coincided with Trump’s 80th birthday. Large platforms remain in place, along with the massive lighting rig that towers over the White House.
The White House announced this week on X that the National Park Service and ScottsMiracle-Gro, a lawn product company, will restore the grass on the South Lawn “making it stronger than ever before.”
The company committed $1 million to the restoration project, which will include laying down a “proprietary grass blend.”
The White House made no mention of the Ellipse in its post.
In a court filing earlier this month, the National Park Service said it anticipated all equipment would be removed “from the Ellipse and its surrounding area by June 23, 2026.” It also made no mention of lawn restoration.
Trump’s UFC event — and the hulking infrastructure tied to it — represents just one of many physical changes he’s made to the Capitol. Since returning to office, he has torn down the East Wing to build a massive ballroom, paved over the Rose Garden and proposed a 250-foot triumphal arch on the Potomac River.
