CLEVELAND -- A civil-rights group said Wednesday that the relaxation of rules on marches during the Republican National Convention and the shrinking of a designated event zone downtown are an "important victory" for free-speech rights.

A federal judge said last week that the city's regulations for the four-day convention, which starts July 18, were unconstitutional and ordered city attorneys to negotiate new rules with the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio. The ACLU had sued the city on behalf of a homeless-advocacy organization and two groups planning protests and rallies for the first day of the convention.

The amended rules announced Wednesday extend a designated parade route for protest marches; shrink the event zone -- where the rules would be enforced -- by roughly half; and allow people who live within the zone, including the homeless, to carry banned items including bottles and cans.

The ACLU said the agreement prevents the convention from being defined by "an unnecessary conflict between freedom and security."

"The new rules ensure that people have meaningful opportunities to express themselves on some of our most important national issues," the ACLU of Ohio's executive director, Christine Link, said in a statement.

A Cleveland spokesman did not respond to a request for comment after the city's Board of Control approved the amended rules Wednesday.

The ACLU represented Citizens for Trump, a group that plans a rally and march to support presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, and Organize Ohio, which is coordinating a rally and march to protest economic inequality in the U.S. The two groups asked the ACLU to sue after the city rejected their applications to hold events and marches.

Ralph King, an organizer for Citizens for Trump, said he was still unhappy with the rules. Cleveland has agreed to provide a location for a July 18 rally but is requiring the group to submit a new permit, which King said is "throwing more and more hurdles" at the group.

"They're doing everything they can, even with their new location, to drag it out," King said. "Typical Cleveland."

The Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless joined the lawsuit because of the list of prohibited items in the city's rules for the convention, including backpacks, sleeping bags, bottles and cans. The lawsuit said about 100 homeless people live within the event zone, including a small encampment near Quicken Loans Arena.

The amended rules allow people to make speeches inside the event zone in locations other than the free-speech zone designated by the city. They also allow people to find spots to stand above the crowd to speak.

As the Republican convention nears, Trump's campaign aides are working to line up appearances by well-known sports figures, including former Indiana University basketball coach Bobby Knight and NASCAR chief Brian France, people familiar with the planning said.

Talks are in progress with several other celebrities and top athletes, so the list of those appearing at the convention will grow, organizers said.

In a radio interview Wednesday, Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump, confirmed the talks, saying, "It's not gonna be a ho-hum lineup of the typical politicians."

"It's gonna be a great combination of our great politicians," she said, according to Buzzfeed, "but also great American businessmen and women and leaders across industry and leaders across really all the sectors, from athletes to coaches and everything in between."

The celebrities' specific roles at the convention have not yet been finalized, and it is unclear whether any of them will speak onstage. Representatives of those lined up to appear did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Information for this article was contributed by Mark Gillispie of The Associated Press and Jennifer Jacobs and Kevin Cirilli of Bloomberg News.

A Section on 06/30/2016