NI sports minister David Hanson has welcomed the decision by rugby chiefs to support a proposed multi-sports national stadium.
Football, GAA and rugby would be played at a new stadium
The IRFU said on Friday it backed a planned national arena and that it could envisage some full international and 'A' fixtures being played there.
The Ulster Branch, who are planning a £5 million revamp to their Ravenhill HQ, also roundly backed the proposal.
The Government has earmarked a site at the Maze for the 42,000-seater complex.
Critics of the plan have claimed it is foolish to locate the stadium outside of Belfast which has a ready-made tourist infrastructure of hotels, bars, nightclubs and restaurants in its city centre.
They have cited the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff and Croke Park in Dublin as examples of how major stadia work best in cities.
There are two separate bids from private developers to build a stadium in Belfast - one on the site of the former Maysfield Leisure Centre and another at Ormeau Park.