The University of Houston took a step in its process toward a new football stadium on Monday, issuing a request for qualification (RFQ) for architectural firms to submit proposals to design the new stadium.

The RFQ begins a more than two-month process of selection for UH. Firms have until Feb. 1 to submit proposals and the selection schedule calls for a recommendation to be made on March 26 of one of the finalists.

The document also gives an approximate timetable on the stadium plans. UH is planning to begin design in April 2012, begin construction (by first demolition Robertson Stadium) in December of 2012 after UH’s last home game and having the stadium ready to go in July 2014, in time for the 2014 football season. Projected construction time is 20 months.

Included among the things on UH’s list for the stadium project:

40,000-seat capacity, expandable to 60,000 in the future in 10,000-seat increments (phase two would be 50,000 seats, phase three would be 60,000 seats).

Premium seats (suites, club, loge, etc.) would be about 4,000.

A club lounge that would have view of the field, the downtown skyline and premium food and beverage amenities would be approximately 12,000 square feet.

Individual suites would be about 274 square feet apiece.

The Cougars’ locker room would be around 8,500 square feet and would include toilets, showers, separate coaches accommodations, training, treatment and exam facilities and equipment and manager space.

A 20,000 square-foot multi-purpose academic center.

The press box (which would include a visiting athletic director’s suite) would be above the main suite level.

The entire square footage for the stadium (including field, seating and concourses) would be 450,000 square feet.

The project will also include new scoreboards, video boards, lighting, a new sound system and a new playing surface. It is also noted on the RFQ that the stadium is to preserve the view of the downtown skyline, so for those fans that enjoy that part of the charm of the current Robertson Stadium, that won’t go away.

As stated before, the stadium will be on the site that Robertson Stadium currently sits. UH has raised about half of the projected $120 million that the project calls for (that cost based on a feasibility study conducted by UH in the summer of 2010).