Dan Meis is confident that Everton Stadium will provide an unrivalled experience for all Blues fans.
The Stadium Design Concept Guardian visited Bramley-Moore Dock in his latest flying visit to check on progress, followed by a tour of the ‘ALL Experience’ Showroom at the Royal Liver Building and a Q&A with Fans Forum members.
And following the recent roof installations, Meis was delighted to see his original vision coming to fruition.
He said: “I’ve been doing this for 30 years now, but to go from a drawing to what we see now feels like a little bit of magic.
“Of course, it’s not. It takes a lot of hard work from thousands of people and a lot of money, but there is something magical about seeing a sketch on a piece of paper become this.
“I get a lot of updates via social media, but it’s not the same until you are here to see it and feel the scale of it.
Had a great walk-thru of Bramley Moore today! I took this picture from the very farthest seat in the stadium. I think it illustrates how incredibly intimate the building is going to feel….and how loud! #bramleymooredock #everton pic.twitter.com/YngzbbcACo
— danmeis 🇺🇦 (@Meisarch) July 27, 2023
“Being able to now get into the upper deck and feel the roof over your head is incredible. It’s going to be so loud and so noisy and I can’t wait to see what this stadium is going to do for the club.”
Everton Stadium remains on schedule to be completed in the final months of 2024, with a decision yet to be made on when the club will leave Goodison Park for good.
But Meis is convinced the upgrade will be worth waiting for.
He added: “People have an idea what new stadiums can look like, having seen the likes of West Ham and Tottenham.
“The difference here is that this stadium really has the power and intimacy of Goodison, but yet it’s all new, with all the amenities that Goodison doesn’t have.
“As soon as you walk in, you notice that it’s all about football. The rake of the seats goes right up, so it’s very steep and it’s going to make you feel like you right on top of the pitch, so for the fans that’s going to be the amazing thing.
“I went up to the highest point in the north corner and it’s still an incredible view from right back there. Obviously there are no columns in the way, but you see the perspective and there’s not a bad seat in the house.”
Meis followed his whistle-stop tour by touring the ‘All Experience’ showroom, where he was fully briefed on the bars, restaurants and experiences that Everton fans can enjoy on matchdays.
The recently launched ‘Dock on 1' seasonal membership packages, alongside two other sales phases, have already completely sold out, with fans now being urged to register their interest HERE for upcoming seasonal bars and pub memberships.
The American architect added: “It was a joy to be shown around the ‘ALL Experience’ showroom and I was in awe of what’s been put forward in terms of the various internal spaces and offerings.
“All really does mean all in this stadium, because there’s so much flexibility of offer. Equally, so much thought has gone into the design of the Bars and Restaurants and there’s no doubt in my mind that these packages all have a wow factor that fans will love.”
Meis rounded off a busy day with some media commitments, before meeting up with representatives of the Fans Forum to share his thoughts on the stadium and be quizzed on its impact on fans.
