Dan Meis on Everton's new stadium: Doubts on project, recreating Goodison's ‘cauldron', club's faith

New York Times

25-03-2025

Dan Meis, the American architect behind Everton's new stadium, has said he wondered 'lots of times' whether the project would ever happen.
Everton will move to the new 52,888 capacity arena from the start of next season after overcoming a number of significant hurdles during the course of the £800million scheme.
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Planning permission was granted in February 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic, while Everton were forced to abandon sponsorship deals, including a potential naming rights partnership, with companies linked to the sanctioned Uzbek-born oligarch Alisher Usmanov after Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine a year later.
Construction also happened at a time when former owner Farhad Moshiri, himself with links to Russia and Usmanov, was looking to sell the club and with the team in regular relegation trouble.
As a result, funding plans had to change several times and the club became increasingly reliant on short-term, high-interest loans to cover costs. Everton have since been bought by The Friedkin Group, based in Houston, Texas.
Asked whether he had ever considered the prospect that the development would not proceed, Meis said: 'Lots of times. We had Covid, the war in Ukraine… all kinds of things that threw the club into disarray at various times. It's not for the faint of heart and really does take a lot of commitment.
'I know fans at times were questioning all kinds of things about the leadership. (Former Everton chairman) Bill Kenwright, for example, became a bit of a lightning rod at times.
'This building would not be here without him. Full stop. He was a passionate defender of mine and I wouldn't be here without him, so it takes so much for these things to fall into place.'
'It's been a long, 10-year road to get to this stage, but it's heart-pounding to see people in the stadium and to see their reaction. It's really priceless.'
Everton Stadium designer @Meisarch on an emotional experience at yesterday's test event. 🏟️https://t.co/H8pMzVLwVW
— Everton Stadium (@EvertonStadium) March 24, 2025
Meis was in attendance at the Everton Stadium on Sunday for Everton Under-21s' 1-0 win over Bolton Wanderers B — the second of three test events to be completed before the site obtains its safety certificate.
Speaking to reporters at the event, the Los Angeles-based architect said his main preoccupation during the design process had been capturing the 'history' and 'magic' of Goodison Park, Everton's home of 133 years.
'The thing that really hit me the very first time I went to Goodison was how it really was this cauldron,' Meis said. 'You were really on top of the pitch and, sure, there were things in your eyesight like columns, but it was a proper English football stadium and that's hard to recreate.
'That was very intimidating because the last thing I wanted to do — and I've seen that with other new buildings — is that you lose some of the magic of the history. So it's subtle. But proximity was important, steepness was important. No fuss — we didn't want a bunch of commercial things getting in the way, just fans on the pitch.
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'I was very conscious that I was American and didn't want to take anything for granted. In some ways, that worked to my advantage because I dove deep into the history of Goodison and the city. It wasn't about a shiny new building. It was: 'How do we take that magic and move it to a very important, historic site without losing that energy?'.
'The direction from the club was very clear early on. It was, 'We're not Wembley or even Tottenham for that matter'. This is about a proper football stadium. Of course, you need it to be commercially viable and help the club grow, but to do that in a way without losing the on-top-of-the-pitch feel and intimidation.'
Meis spent Sunday morning walking around the site and getting a progress update on the development, with Everton in the final stages of completing the internal fit-out of the corporate lounges.
A third test event will happen later this season, with the bulk of the work over the summer likely to centre on improving the pitch and making the stadium more 'homely' before Everton's first competitive game in August.
Meis expects to be in attendance for that match and for the Goodison atmosphere to translate across to the new waterfront site.
'Walking in, it feels so much bigger,' he said. 'There was always a fear that it wasn't going to fit (on the site), but now you walk in and it's just massive. Compared to Goodison, it feels huge, but it's also going to feel very intimate because it's so steep and we're so close to the pitch.
'I can't describe it (the feeling). I remember sketching (a design) on a napkin and, all of a sudden, it's there. It's magical. It feels like it just appears.
'That first Premier League game is going to be crazy. I can't wait, and it's great to see the club on a better footing. Everyone is breathing a sigh of relief because it could have been bad.
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'I can't say enough about the commitment of the club to do this. They could have picked sites that were easier and far less expensive, and so for all the ups and downs, I think the city and region will benefit from this.'