The design consortium behind the London Olympic Stadium was yesterday named as designer for the planned national sports stadium on the site of Northern Ireland's former Maze Prison.
The Mott MacDonald HOK Sport Team was named as winner of an international design competition for the multi-sports stadium.
The announcement gave a substantial boost to proposals for the stadium, expected to cost over £50 million (€74 million), but still does not mean it will definitely go ahead.
Northern Ireland Office minister David Hanson said: "The key issues of viability, value for money and affordability are currently being addressed and subject to government successfully delivering a private development partner, then Northern Ireland can look forward to having a stadium it can be proud of."
The winning design team have a proven track record which includes Arsenal's new much-praised Emirates Stadium in London, the GAA's magnificent Croke Park in Dublin, and the Olympic Stadium in Sydney.
They are also working on the London Olympic Stadium, the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road in Dublin and the Mhombela Stadium in South Africa - one of the venues for the 2010 football World Cup.
The proposals for the 365-acre Maze site are for a 35,000-seater stadium for football and rugby - and for the removal of 5,000 seats to provide for up to 12,000 standing fans for GAA matches. Belfast City Council, however, is still pressing ahead with plans for a new stadium in the city.