Under Armour Wants to Tear Down a Big Swoosh That's Too Close to Its Office

The footwear companies battle for space in Portland.

Under Armour Nike Swoosh Portland
via Willamette Week

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Under Armour Nike Swoosh Portland

by Brendan Dunne

Under Armour, which is planning to open a huge new office in Portland, Ore., is already being reminded of the extent to which Nike runs the city in terms of ad space.

According to Willamette Week, Under Armour will pay to renovate Lents and Duniway parks, the latter of which is right by its planned new office in Southwest Portland. As part of the agreement with the city of Portland, Under Armour will get the rights to place advertisements in the two parks.

But Nike's already got some branding in Duniway park, having renovated it in 1995. There's a scoreboard next to the park's track, facing the planned Under Armour office, with a 2.5 foot Swoosh on it. A spokesman for Portland Parks and Recreation says that Under Armour has been inquiring about what sort of deal Nike has with the city to keep the logo up. That spokesman also said Nike's agreement with the city expired in 2004.

It's still unclear whether Under Armour will have its way in this battle for logo space in the West Coast's footwear capital.