The Budget has provided £500,000 for a sports project in a deprived area of Cork city, with part of the money going to the development of Ireland's "first full-size indoor hurling stadium". The Budget said the money was for "new pitches, dressing rooms and social facilities, as well as Ireland's first full-size indoor hurling stadium" at the North Ridge Project in Cork.
The project was announced in April 1997 by the then minister of state for youth affairs and sport, Mr Bernard Allen. Two Cork soccer clubs and two GAA clubs will benefit from it.