The government is to spend Ј50m on "elite" sporting facilities for Northern Ireland ahead of the 2012 Olympic Games in London.
Sports Minister David Hanson said he hoped Northern Ireland could attract events in the run up to the games.
There are plans for an Olympic-size swimming pool, and it is hoped the proposed new sports stadium could host soccer games during the tournament.
Mr Hanson was speaking during a visit by Lord Coe from the Olympic committee.
Lord Coe's visit to Northern Ireland marked the start of regional involvement in the London games.
Mr Hanson said that government's investment in top class facilities and the 2012 Games would ensure Northern Ireland sports men and women had the "best opportunity to compete on the world stage".
"Approximately Ј50m has been provisionally allocated for high priority sports infrastructure projects identified by the Sports Council for Northern Ireland" he said.
"The money will be allocated through a series of bid competitions which will be handled by the Strategic Investment Board Ltd (SIB) and the Sports Council.
"The first competition will be advertised tomorrow. It will seek expressions of interest from project promoters for an Olympic-sized swimming pool and the winning project could attract up to 75% of the capital costs."
It is planned to have the elite facilities for Olympic sports in place and operational by 2010.
The minister said he had asked a number of people from sport, business, local government, tourism and the cultural sectors to join the new Olympics Northern Ireland Task Force.
They will help implement a strategy to enable Northern Ireland to compete for preparation camps and holding camps.
Details of the competition for the 50-metre swimming pool will be advertised in the main Northern Ireland newspapers on Friday 3 March.
The winner of the swimming pool competition will be announced in early 2007. The needs of the other sports will be addressed by a subsequent competition process later this year.
(BBC)
<< Back