Re: LeBron Banner DENIED by the City of Cleveland
I am not sure if this will really help but I sent it over to the Mayor's office.. I will send a few to other places as well.. It's nothing special, but I will do what I can to pitch in and help..
Mayor Jackson,
I write to you tonight on behalf of many fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team. For the past two years a growing amount of Cavaliers fans from all around the world have committed to a goal of raising money to put a banner up to encourage Lebron James to re-sign with the Cavaliers. We have done this through a website
www.realcavsfans.com and also
www.lebron2010.com , where many dedicated fans have donated money to our cause. There is more specific information in this article posted on Cleveland.com...
http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/04/lebron_will_he_stay_or_will_he.html
I have not personally been a leader through this campaign, but am an avid follower of the website and admire the great leadership that the administrators of the website have shown. This was a steep goal when it was set 2 years ago, and it was a proud day when I realized the dedication of many fans were going to make it possible. Lebron James has done a lot for Cleveland, and a lot of Cavaliers fans all around the world, I think it's time that we give a little bit back.
Everything seemed to be clear and the media had gotten a hold of the story until just late tonight Glen Infante, the creator of Realcavsfans and Lebron2010, was notified that the permit to display the banner was denied by the Commissioner of Buildings for the City of Cleveland. The reasoning for this denial in Infante's own words,
"What they have explained to us is that the material and the size used to create the banner is not of STATE requirements. The banner sits at 70x20 feet and is made of 3m vinyl material which is a Jetflex product. That product is also used on the same exact banner that you see on the Quicken Loans Arena, but they chose to deny ours."
This dedicated group of fans is just a small microcosm of what Cleveland fans and citizens across the great state of Ohio embody. Cleveland is a city which is championship-starved, and Lebron James has obviously brought something to this city that we have not had in a long time. I think this is a great chance to not only give him something back, but to show the rest of the country what Cleveland is about, and to prove to others that there are a lot of good things going on in Cleveland. It's time to bring out the positives of the community and to bring some very good publicity to our city and our state!
We planned on having the banner ready by the Cavaliers opening game of the playoffs which is tomorrow afternoon at 3PM. It is very likely that this banner would have gotten national publicity but now we find ourselves deep in red-tape and just hoping to follow through on a goal we have come so far on in just 2 years. I stress once again that this is an extremely unique opportunity to showcase the city of Cleveland and especially it's people. In a tough economic time, sometimes a good thing to hang onto is a sports team. This Cavaliers team has accomplished so much the last couple of seasons and has brought many fans closer together and closer to the team. I urge you to please do what you can to help us show Lebron and the Cavaliers team how strongly their fans are behind them and to help showcase Cleveland to the rest of the country.
Thank you for your time and consideration,
James Flint
I know it's slightly repetitive guys, but I just felt like I should try and write something to let the Mayor's office and the Mayor know how important this is to us as fans, and how beneficial this can be to the city and even the state..