Everton Stadium architect avoids planning ‘really crazy’ Bramley-Moore Dock idea
Dan Meis, the architect of the new Everton Stadium, has revealed that he avoided making any “crazy” plans to ensure the best viewing experience.
The new ground at Bramley-Moore Dock is due to be opened for the start of the 2024-25 season which will see the Toffees leave Goodison Park for good.
The 52,000-seater facility is set to have all four stands very close to the pitch as they are in the club’s current home and Meis opted to take a dig at West Ham United for their wide-open new ground.
“I tend not to do things that don’t make sense,” he said to the Liverpool Echo. “If you do a really crazy shape and that shape is taking up a place for seats and making them further away from the pitch, you’re not really making it a better place to play football so there are some basic rules that I can work within.
“Something that the fans really cared about here was that it’s not a bowl. We use the word bowl as a term in architecture as a seating bowl but the fans were worried that it was a round shape, like what West Ham have had to deal with, but we knew here the stands were going to be parallel to the pitch.”
Next step
Construction is coming along very nicely and there seems to be a new piece of the project up every day at the moment which only serves to excite Evertonians more for the future of the football club.
Leaving Goodison Park will no doubt be a highly emotional affair for Everton who may well struggle in their first year or two at Bramley-Moore Dock as West ham did at the London Stadium.
But since those early struggles, the Irons have gathered momentum and become one of the best clubs outside of the traditional top six with two successive European campaigns to enjoy.
That is just as achievable for the Toffees when they move into their new stadium which will attract more income from ticket sales, tours and merchandise while also being a more attractive place to play for players.
The home advantage might not be there for the first coup[le of years but once they are settled, Everton could easily force their way into the elite of English football.