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The city of Cleveland would like to bring the NBA All-Star Game back.

(Joshua Gunter, The Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- After an exciting few months, Cleveland has become the center of the sports universe, and the Cleveland Cavaliers would like to bring another event to the city in the coming years: the NBA All-Star Game.

A league official would not offer any specifics on whether Cleveland has made a bid, but admitted it's definitely on the radar and something the team is working toward.

The year 2017 is the next opening the league is looking to fill. The game will be held in New York in 2015. Toronto won the bid for the game in 2016.

The list of teams interested in hosting the midseason event in 2017 or 2018 is long, with the Charlotte Hornets being one team that has flown to New York, meeting with NBA officials about their bid. The league is expected to narrow the list in the coming months, with a final decision sometime in 2015.

The city of Cleveland and Cavaliers last hosted the NBA All-Star Game in 1997, when the league commemorated its 50th anniversary and invited the top 50 all-time players to Cleveland. Hosting the game in 2017 would mark the 20-year anniversary.

Cavs owner Dan Gilbert expressed interest in bringing the All-Star game back to Cleveland as recently as May of 2012, believing the city's revitalized downtown will tempt the league.

It's been a busy off-season for the Cavs on the court as they have added superstars LeBron James and Kevin Love in an attempt to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2010.