Dan Meis wanted Everton’s stadium “to feel like it grew out of the dock”

Dan Meis, the chief architect of the Hill Dickinson Stadium, confirmed that he wanted the waterfront venue “to feel like it grew out of the dock” and that idea was the basis of his approach.

"I really believed in this idea that the stadium should feel like it grew out of the dock,” said Meis.

“I did one little sketch that was based on the idea of the Mersey washing over the dock. You had this rough scribble of a brick base with a curvy wave over the top of it. If you look at the very early renderings, the final building looks a lot like that.

"Bill Kenwright said he wanted something that was both historical and forward looking - that was a bit of a challenge.”

Meis also explained how he constantly communicated with the Everton fanbase over the construction plans for the new stadium. The Toffees moved into their new stadium at the beginning of the current season after bidding goodbye to Goodison Park, one of English football’s hallowed venues, last campaign.

"I learned pretty early through fan engagements how passionate they were about this. It was not always super friendly," said Meis.

The seating capacity became a point of debate and discussion. The new stadium is capable of accommodating 52,000 fans - 12,000 more than what Goodison could hold.

"I can't tell you the number of tweets I got from fans saying: 'It's OK as long as we have one more seat than Anfield,'" recalled Meis.

"In the end, fans felt like they were talking to the club. Hearing from them really made me think about these things - making sure they were right on top of the pitch, making sure we weren't sacrificing that football-first energy in any way, while delivering revenue."

 

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