Hill Dickinson Stadium: Dan Meis designed Everton’s new home – now he has an 1878 tattoo
Construction started in August 2021 and will be completed in 2025. However, this does not mean that the project went completely without a hitch.
“We were in danger of relegation more than once. We had a change of ownership and a war with Russia and Ukraine that affected the club,” Meis said.
The Toffees finished the 2021-22 season four points above the relegation zone and the following season just two points above the relegation zone.
Everton also cut ties with Russian sponsors in 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine, and in November 2024 the Friedkin Group took over the club.
Nick Tyrer was the lead designer for architecture and engineering firm BDP Pattern on Hill Dickinson Stadium.
“I work in sports stadiums all over the world,” he told BBC Sport.
“The joy, but also the challenge, is that these are landmark projects driven by politics, industry and what is happening in the world.”
He explained that the design and construction contract was signed at a time when Everton were facing potential relegation.
“There was a lot of talk on social media that this was going to be the best stadium in the Championship,” Tyrer added.
“It’s a professional concern; you spend six or seven years of your life working in a stadium and it might open in a lower league.”
This concern will sound familiar to fans of relegation-fighting Tottenham Hotspur, who face the prospect of their club playing in the Champions League next season in a 62,000-seat stadium that only opened in 2019.
Meis also explained some of the technical challenges of building in disused industrial ports.
“When the builders went down to the floor of the scaffolding, they found unexploded ordnance from the Second World War,” he said. “At one point they found a dolphin and had to shut the whole thing down.”
The designer now has a tattoo that says 1878 (the year Everton were founded).
He took part in the first home game against Brighton, which David Moyes’ side won 2-0, with goals from Iliman Ndiaye and James Garner.
“I still get emotional talking about this. There were grown men hugging me with tears in their eyes, telling me how much this meant to them,” Meis added.
“One of the most impressive things that happened to me on the first day was when I was walking from one of the club areas towards the stadium and one of the female staff members opened the door for me. As I walked in I heard her say to someone else, ‘he really listened to us.’ ‘How great is that?’ I thought.
“I didn’t do anything for my ego; this was the fulfillment of the hopes of tens of thousands of people.”
