MEIS to see you...

I feared the worst but this makes it all worthwhile says architect Dan

- JOE THOMAS

DAN MEIS could not take 10 steps without getting stopped as he surveyed his wonderful new stadium from the bustling fan plaza.

Supporters gazing in bewilderment at Everton's new home turned their mobile phone cameras to themselves as they pulled the stadium architect in for selfie after selfie.

None of it was too much for Meis, who like everyone else spent an afternoon awestruck.

His buzz was a different one, though. For most Blues the shiny new waterfront stadium has been a mirage on the Liverpool skyline a building on which hopes of better were projected as it rose while the club's fortunes sunk. Every development was a step into the unknown for them. Not for Meis though. Every detail was part of the napkin drawings that have now come to life.

That is not to say there were not tough times, however. As the club lurched between crises, did he ever fear the worst? "Yes, lots of times," he candidly admitted.

"There was fear. We had Covid, we had the Russia-Ukraine issue - all things that threw the club into disarray at times. It's not for the faint of heart, it does take a lot of commitment." There was that and more. This is a stadium that has been the life raft supporters have clung onto as the club has been buffeted over recent years. Covid hit the club's finances hard, while the Russian invasion of Ukraine led to ties being cut with what had been, and were expected to be, lucrative sponsorship deals. There were also the self inflicted problems caused by a mix of reckless ambition on the pitch and in the transfer market that ended with a Frankenstein squad, points deductions, a wantaway owner and survival fights that went to the final days of two seasons.

Meis' most difficult stage of the project was a personal one, however, as he began to worry he would not be able to see his plans through to completion.