A museum, a sports centre, a memorial to Joey Dunlop or a pilgrimage site similar to Lough Derg. These are some of the ideas being mooted for the future use of the Maze.
According to the Northern Ireland Prison Service, the complex is to be "mothballed" for a period until decisions are made. The director-general of the Prison Service, Mr Robin Halward, said the prison would remain in "warm storage" and would be available for use in an emergency for some time after its expected closure later this year.
Sinn Fein yesterday called for the H-Blocks to be retained as a museum so that future generations could learn about the conflict. Cllr Paul Butler of Sinn Fein said the H-Blocks should follow other prisons which had been maintained as museums such as Robben Island in South Africa and Kilmainham in Dublin.
"Like these prisons the H-Blocks should serve as a reminder of the conflict in this country and of those who were imprisoned and died as a result of that conflict," he said.
The debate continued on the airwaves with members of the public phoning Talkback on BBC Radio Ulster to offer suggestions. One suggested the Maze could be Northern Ireland's answer to Lough Derg while another said a memorial to the late motorcycling star, Joey Dunlop, would be appropriate.
In March last year local residents who live near the prison requested that some of the grounds be given over to them to create a community centre and sports fields. "Local people have put up with a lot over the years with a large prison on their doorstep, including the mass escape of 38 prisoners in 1983. They deserve something back," said a local councillor, Mr David Adams.
Others believe that the only sensible option is to demolish the prison complex. Mr Finlay Spratt, chairman of the Prison Officers' Association, said the Maze should be retained by the Prison Service until it is no longer required and then "razed completely".
"While it remains there it will always be a reminder. We keep too much of these things, and the past keeps coming back to haunt us. It is part of our history but it has been well enough documented," he said.
Like many in the republican movement, Mr Laurence McKeown, a former Maze prisoner, would like to see some parts of the prison retained "as a place where people can go".
"You don't wipe things clean by denying that they existed, and nor do I think that by retaining some place such as an element of Long Kesh you keep on the ghosts of the past. I think what you do is allow a space for those ghosts to quietly disappear," he said.