Satellite images show White House ballroom, UFC Octagon construction

Satellite images of the White House campus show three separate projects advancing at once: the demolition site for President Donald Trump’s new ballroom, a UFC Octagon rising on the South Lawn for a June 14 event, and repairs underway at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

The images, obtained by ABC News from satellite firm Vantor, show the White House East Wing stripped away for the ballroom, construction materials spread across the South Lawn, and a stage taking shape on the Ellipse. They also show work at the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall, where an “American Flag Blue” coating is being applied to the bottom of the basin.

The ballroom project was announced by the White House on July 31, 2025, and demolition of the East Wing began in October 2025. The White House said the new ballroom would be about 90,000 square feet and would seat 650 people, compared with 200 in the East Room. The administration initially put the cost at about $200 million and said the project would be funded by Trump and other donors. It named McCrery Architects as lead architect, Clark Construction as builder and AECOM as the engineering lead.

The East Wing, which stood on the site of the current demolition, was built in 1902 and later expanded with a second story in 1942. Its removal marks one of the most visible physical changes to the White House complex in decades, and the satellite imagery shows how quickly a new private-funded addition has begun to redefine the campus.

The same images show construction of the UFC Octagon on the South Lawn for the UFC Freedom 250, scheduled for June 14, 2026. Work began in May 2026, and the date coincides with Trump’s birthday and Flag Day. The South Lawn build and the stage on the Ellipse underscore how the White House grounds are being adapted not just for official functions, but for a major sporting spectacle.

At the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, the renovation has become its own major federal project. The National Park Service calls it the largest ongoing project it has under the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Lincoln Memorial was dedicated in 1922, the Reflecting Pool was completed in 1924, and the site is part of the 1902 McMillan Plan. ABC News reported the cost was nearing $15 million, with resurfacing and a filtration-system replacement underway.

Interior Department contracting documents said the work was awarded without competitive bidding because of urgency tied to reopening the pool for the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations. ABC News also reported Atlantic Industrial Coatings is handling part of the work, alongside an Ohio firm responsible for the filtration system. A White House video posted on April 23, 2026, framed the project as part of Trump’s broader Washington makeover.

Together, the projects show a presidential footprint that is both ceremonial and highly political: a new ballroom, a mixed-martial-arts event on the South Lawn, and a federally funded civic landmark under renovation, all unfolding within view of the White House.