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PHOTO: Nike's 10-story LeBron James banner passes 1st stage of approval

Adam Hunger / Reuters

The downtown Cleveland core is moving closer to once again having a 10-story LeBron James banner.

A city design review committee voted unanimously to approve a Nike banner of James that will be hung on Ontario Street, adorning the wall of the Landmark Office Towers. The banner will be 110 feet by 200 feet and is pictured below, courtesy Cleveland.com:

Committee members were said to have a few concerns about the proposal, but obviously those were ironed out. It shouldn't have been a tough sell, after Nike previously had a banner in that spot from 2005 to 2010. The proposal will now go to the Cleveland City Planning Commission, which will vote on Friday.

"I think it was genius to put Cleveland on his back," said committee member Jeffrey Bogart.

The hope from both Nike and the company that owns the building is that a banner can be in place for the team's home opener on Oct. 30.

As a personal aside, the author visited Cleveland in 2009 for an Indians game and can attest that the previous "We Are All Witnesses" banner, also 10-stories in the same location on Ontario Street, was an impressive sight. It really pulled a sport-heavy area of the city together, aesthetically, and the new version should serve as a galvanizing symbol of the rise of Cleveland sports.

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