HOUSTON — The University of Houston has selected Manhattan Construction Co. to build its new $105 million football stadium, which will be constructed on the site of its current arena, the 71-year-old Robertson Stadium, following the 2012 football season. Manhattan Construction has also built multi-million, high-profile stadiums for two National Football League (NFL) teams in Texas: Reliant Stadium for the Houston Texans and Dallas Cowboys Stadium for the Dallas Cowboys. Reliant Stadium is heralded as the first retractable roof stadium in the NFL.

"Manhattan Construction Co. has constructed pre-eminent athletics venues for successful sports franchises in this great city and in the state of Texas. We are thrilled to partner with Manhattan as they are a leader in building first-class intercollegiate and professional athletics facilities across the country," says Mack Rhoades, vice president of Intercollegiate Athletics for the University of Houston.

Back in June, the University of Houston selected Houston-based PageSoutherlandPage and DLR Group to design the new stadium, whichis designed to hold 40,000 fans and will feature Phase II plans to expand the facility to accommodate 60,000 fans. The plans call for 22 luxury suites, 200 loge box seating, club seating for 650 fans, approximately 20,000 square feet of academic/meeting space and expanded press facilities.

"Manhattan Construction Co. is very excited to have been selected to build the University of Houston's new football stadium. As you can imagine, with more than 70 years in this great city we are honored to be a part of this new era for the University of Houston Athletics Department as it continues to grow and move into the Big East Conference in 2014," says Duane Duffy, Manhattan Construction Co.’s senior vice president — Houston Division. "Manhattan is pleased to bring our many years of stadium experience and lessons learned to construct this new, exciting facility."

Other notable sports projects from Manhattan Construction include BBVA Compass Stadium serving the Houston Dynamo MLS team, the Apogee Stadium in Denton serving the University of North Texas, the Gallagher-Iba Arena serving Oklahoma State University’s basketball team, the ONEOK Field serving the Tulsa Drillers Minor League Baseball team and the jetBluePark serving the Boston Red Sox as its spring training facility.

"This project isn't just about replacing a stadium with a more modern facility; it’s about creating a venue that showcases the football team’s on-field accomplishments while providing a spectacular view of the downtown skyline,” says Jeffrey Bricker, PageSoutherlandPage’s principal in charge.

Larry Speck, design principal of PageSoutherlandPage, adds, "This building will attract more visitors to the University of Houston campus — from loyal alumni and major donors to neighborhood kids with collegiate dreams — than any other. It will create a critical outreach to the community and a conspicuous window for Houstonians into their primary hometown academic institution."

Outside of football, the new arena will be suited to host student activities and outside events year-round. The new stadium is slated for a 2014 completion.

“The vision is to create a new venue that is captivating on game days and also an iconic, vibrant building on the campus 365 days a year,” says Don Barnum, DLR Group’s principal. “The integrated PageSoutherlandPage | DLR Group design team looks forward to designing a stadium that will raise the profile of Houston football in the city, in Texas, and across the country.”

— John Nelson