WASHINGTON — A 92-foot-tall steel structure known colloquially as “the claw” is being erected on the South Lawn of the White House to serve as the centerpiece for the UFC’s Freedom 250 event on June 14, according to ESPN.
Built and owned by Stageco, a Belgian event-staging company with offices in Colorado and Pennsylvania, the 600-ton, 154-foot-wide framework resembles the picking end of an arcade crane and is topped by a 100-by-100-foot canopy, ESPN reports. The structure’s steel frame is filled with large beam lights, and the lighting grid includes some aluminum components.
Stageco refers to the piece as the “beta tent,” a smaller counterpart to an “alpha tent” the company used at the 2017 Lowlands music festival in the Netherlands, according to ESPN. The beta tent is typically based in Europe and has been a recurring feature at that festival, the company told ESPN.
The installation arrived after months of planning, an ocean crossing and multiple forms of transportation, ESPN reports. Stageco U.S. operations manager Nick Rivas told ESPN the company has built several arching or arc-shaped structures it describes as claw-like.
Early renderings for the White House show initially drew criticism from UFC CEO Dana White, who rejected staging that would block the view of the White House, according to an ESPN interview. UFC chief content officer Craig Borsari and third-party planner Tait Global then sought a solution that would provide clear sight lines, enough height to avoid obstructing the White House from primary camera positions and sufficient capacity to carry lighting and sound equipment; they settled on Stageco’s beta tent, ESPN reports. Borsari presented the plan at UFC headquarters and White approved it immediately, according to ESPN.
