Roger Goodell

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell opens the NFL Draft in 2013 at Radio City Music Hall in New York. Next year's draft reportedly will not be back at Radio City Music Hall.

(AP)

BEREA, Ohio – The NFL is focusing on three potential host cities for the 2015 NFL Draft, but the local entry is not among them.

Canton was one of more than a dozen cities or clubs that submitted bids for the league's annual event, which has been held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City since 2006.

On Thursday, the league sent letters to Chicago, Los Angeles and New York asking for further information about potential draft plans. Next year's event is expected to be held either April 22-25 or April 29-May 2, a source told NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. Each set of dates is a Wednesday through Saturday, fueling speculation the draft could expand to four days.

Brian McCarthy, the NFL's vice president of corporate communications, confirmed the three cities in a Tweet, but added the others "remain in the mix."

"None of the 12-plus cities or clubs have been eliminated," McCarthy wrote in an email to cleveland.com.

A Pro Football Hall of Fame executive told cleveland.com last month Canton has a strong interest in serving as a host site. For several years, there's been talk of rotating the draft, something the National Hockey League does among its member cities.

The NFL has conducted its drafts in New York since 1965.

The New York Post first reported Canton was one of at least eight cities that applied. It would be a natural candidate given its ties to the game's history and the hall of fame.

Hall's executive vice president of communication and exhibits Joe Horrigan said if Canton won a bid the event likely would be held at the Civic Center, which annually hosts HOF functions. The Browns conducted their 1999 expansion draft at the Civic Center and it was telecast by ESPN.