Northern Ireland Office (NIO) Sports Minister Angela Smith is to report today on a feasibility study she commissioned earlier this year on whether the North could have a 30,000-capacity stadium for soccer, rugby and gaelic games.
However a decision on whether the project gets the green light will depend on the governing bodies of all three sports organisations approving it.
In January, Ms Smith and NIO Finance Minister Ian Pearson asked Mr Tony Whitehead, an adviser to the province's Strategic Investment Board, to come up with a business plan for a stadium.
It is understood the minister will confirm Mr Whitehead has told the British government a new mutli-sports stadium in the North would be economically viable at a cost of around £53 million sterling..
With the Northern Ireland football team's home ground at Windsor Park in need of a repair, it is believed there would be support for a new stadium in the Irish Football Association. However, Ulster rugby and Gaelic Athletic Association chiefs would also have to give the project their blessing and agree to hold events there if it is to succeed.
There is also a possibility that major rock concerts could be staged there. Four sites have been identified as possible locations.
The former Maze Prison near Lisburn, which has been lying empty since the early release of paramilitary prisoners under the Belfast Agreement, has been touted as a favoured site. However two sites in Belfast have also been considered - in the Titanic Quarter in the east of the city and the north foreshore of Belfast Lough.
PA