By Jamie White – Douglas Stafford Mystery Shopping
Portsmouth’s iconic landmark – the Spinnaker Tower – is to be renamed as the Emirates Spinnaker Tower after a multi-million pound sponsorship deal was agreed.
The 560ft Tower – which hosted mystery shopping company Douglas Stafford’s 25th anniversary celebrations last year – will have the airline’s name branded on the outside.
However, initial plans to re-paint the tower in the Emirates’ colours of red and white have faced a backlash from thousands – as the colours are the same as the football strip worn by their biggest rivals Southampton. As a result, Emirates has said it is looking at other branding options.
The five-year £3.5 million deal was announced in time for the America’s Cup sailing event, which has its preliminary series in July, ahead of the main event in 2016.
The Tower, situated in the Gunwharf Quays area of Portsmouth, began as a Millennium project back in 1995, and was completed in 2005.
Designed to look like a billowing sail, reflecting Portsmouth’s maritime heritage, it houses a three viewing decks towards the top, along with a cafe and ground floor cafe/restaurant.
