The Munster F.A. initiated a programme of ground improvements, spending approx £80,000 initially, and the ground was reopened in May 1985. League of Ireland football was supposed to return to the Cross that Autumn via Amby Fogarty's new Cork Hibernians side. However the club was removed from the League of Ireland without playing a game as the Munster F.A. refused the new team a lease on the ground unless they had their own public liability insurance, which Hibernians could not afford. Cork City, who had played their first two seasons in Flower Lodge after being elected to the League of Ireland in 1984, then sought a move to become tenants of the MFA at Turners Cross due to the cost of insurance at the Lodge. The move was granted by the Munster F.A. Meanwhile the M.F.A. proceeded with the next stages of its planned improvements. A grant of £30,000 in 1989 was spent on cosmetic improvements to complete 'Phase Two'.