President Trump said the new White House ballroom he has pushed to build will be larger than first announced, with a capacity of about 900 people — roughly a 40% increase over the 650-person figure the White House released in July.
“We’re making it a little bigger. It will be top of the line, as good as it can get anywhere in the world,” Trump told NBC News during a recent phone interview, announcing the change as crews arrived to begin work.
When plans were unveiled in July, the White House described the ballroom as a roughly 90,000-square-foot space with seating for about 650 people and an estimated price tag of $200 million. The president has said he would contribute some of his own money to the project and welcome contributions from outside donors he called “patriots.”
Construction trucks and crews were visible at the White House last week as work began, Trump said. “Right there you see all the trucks,” he told reporters. “They just started construction of the new ballroom for the White House.” The proposed ballroom is planned near the East Wing and is expected to be completed by early 2029.
White House releases accompanying concept art showing a space intended to match the architectural design of the executive mansion. Officials have framed the project as a replacement for large outdoor tents on the South Lawn, which the administration has said are inadequate for hosting major events, visiting dignitaries and foreign leaders.
The ballroom would represent the most significant exterior change to the White House grounds since the 1940s, when the Roosevelt administration expanded the East Wing in 1942 and the Truman administration carried out an extensive interior renovation and added a balcony in 1948. The project follows other changes during Trump’s second term, including a larger flagpole on the South Lawn, pavement near the Rose Garden and new decorative elements in the Oval Office.
Trump has discussed the idea of adding a White House ballroom for more than a decade, including during the Obama administration. He has repeatedly argued that a permanent indoor space would better accommodate official functions and foreign leaders than temporary tents.
During the NBC interview, conducted in the wake of the assassination of his friend Charlie Kirk last week, Trump also called for national healing and criticized what he described as the “radical left” for stoking violence. “I’d like to see it [the nation] heal,” he said. “But we’re dealing with a radical left group of lunatics, and they don’t play fair, and they never did.”
The White House has not released a revised public estimate of cost tied to the larger capacity. The administration’s earlier July estimate put construction at about $200 million for the 650-person design. The timeline to early 2029 would place completion near the end of Trump’s second term if he serves a full term.
Officials did not immediately respond to requests for additional details about financing, final design specifications or security and logistical plans for construction. The project is likely to draw scrutiny from lawmakers and preservationists because it involves a substantial alteration to the historic executive mansion's grounds.