They all boil down to these principal objections. Firstly, that a sports stadium outside Belfast will be a white elephant. Secondly, that the city could come up with a better alternative. Thirdly, that the public would not tolerate a stadium, incorporating 'a shrine to terrorism'. And, last but not least, that the existing stadiums, namely Windsor Park, Ravenhill and Casement Park, with money spent on them, are adequate for the future.

So, where are we now? Answer, where we probably always were if it had not been for four years of navel-gazing, buck-passing and excuse-making. In other words, in the New Year, the Maze prison site will be announced as the preferred option and even as I write this, the tenders are out and several major consortiums are already vying for the design of the site.

Nothing more than the long running stadium debate shows up Northern Ireland's capacity for procrastination. The British Government gifts us a 360-acre site, barely 10 miles from Belfast, next door to the main motorway, and close to Sprucefield, one of our most popular out-of-town shopping precincts. We have the site for free to build a stadium, housing or other amenities, the only proviso being that there should be a cultural consensus and cross-community support.

The traditionally conservative GAA is persuaded out of its natural heartlands to share the site with rugby and soccer. Sinn Fein is also prepared to buy into this sports-sharing ideal even though it is situated in a bastion of unionism. The price? The preservation of the Maze prison's history, an H-Block and the hospital, where the hunger strikers died.

Fast forward to now. H Block six, the hospital, and other structural memorabilia of our troubled past, have been listed as of historical and architectural merit and cannot be bull-dozed down, as is happening to the rest of the site. Whatever facility is built at the Maze will have to live with the physical presence of a part of the old prison preserved for posterity.

Is that too much for others to stomach? As a leading unionist, who would have no time for terrorism, put it to me the other day: "Are we going to allow 10 dead hunger-strikers to deny us a world-class stadium?" Good question.

The answer, of course, in his estimation, is no. He would argue, like most people, that the inmates of the Maze should not be glorified but that their presence in the H-Blocks can still be placed in a balanced and inoffensive historical context. This will not be, nor should it be, 'a shrine to terrorism'.

There is certainly a thriving interest in our troubled past as witnessed by the fact that the murals of west Belfast rate amongst our top 10 tourist attractions. Whether a Conflict Transformation Centre, planned for the Maze site, proves just as alluring, only time will tell but it should certainly not deter sports fans from enjoying the comfort and thrills of a new 30,000 seater stadium.

The other major argument centres on Belfast providing an alternative venue but, one by one, the few city options are falling. The Titanic Quarter proved too costly at £1m an acre for the 50-60 acres needed for a stadium and car parking. Ormeau Park is ruled out because the planning objections from south Belfast residents would have taken years to process with no guarantee of a positive result. Belfast's rearguard action looks futile from a city that woke up too late to the idea of building the stadium.

The longer the debate goes on now, the greater the danger that Northern Ireland will end up with nothing other than the existing stadiums. We may not wish to admit to it, but everything from religion and politics to prejudice and snobbery have been key players in this great game of delaying tactics. We also live in an era where interest in sporting excellence has never been greater but even Third World countries have facilities far superior to our inconveniently-located, out-dated, and totally inadequate stadiums.

Once Windsor Park held 60,000 spectators. When Ravenhill staged Irish rugby's only Grand Slam victory in 1948, it was packed with 32,500 fans. But the images of thousands of cloth-capped fans, smoking Gallaher cigarettes, wearing belted gabardine coats, huddled together on rainswept open terraces belong to a bygone era.

Unfortunately, for Northern Ireland, our existing venues have not lost that aura in their antiquated facilities. No amount of tinkering will make them the kind of venue required for the big occasion, all-seated, family-friendly, meeting international health and safety standards.

Of course, many fans have genuine concerns about the city losing out to the country in this debate. And many also do not want the Maze's infamous past linked to a place of family entertainment. However, it should not be beyond the bounds of the politicians at Stormont to ensure that whatever 'conflict centre', if any, is constructed there, is not offensive nor flying in our faces.

Many of Britain and Europe's new stadiums are in the suburbs or on the outskirts of cities today, notably, for instance, the venues for the recent Rugby World Cup in France. Compared to many of them, the Maze is not as inconvenient a site as its critics make out. With proper public transport, bus and rail links in place, it will be easily accessible from city and country alike.

The Olympic Games are on the horizon. Northern Ireland can benefit by staging some of the events for locations outside London. Our top sports stars deserve a lot better than they have at present. It's time to blow the final whistle on the debate and start laying the bricks at the Maze for a new exciting sporting future.

SPORTS STADIUMS - THE FACTS

Windsor Park, capacity 12,000. Opened 1905. Owned by Linfield FC who lease ground for international matches in return for 15% gate receipts. Contract signed with Irish Football Association in 1984 for 100 years.

Casement Park, capacity 32,000, opened in 1953 but hasn't staged Ulster GAA final since 1971.

Ravenhill, capacity 12,300, opened 1923. Has staged 19 internationals, including pool games for the 1991 and 1999 World Cups.

Oporto's stadium in Portugal used as a model for what NI should have.

Maze prison closed in 2000 and demolition under way since last year.

Internet site www.worldstadiums.com has thousands of pictures of existing venues, old and new. 9,500 stadiums in 220 countries.