Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium has retained that Goodison Park atmosphere, and here’s how the architect has been able to achieve that.
The Hill Dickinson Stadium is one of the finest infrastructures in the country, and despite it boasting all the traits of a modern ground, it still has that proper old-school feel about it.
Everton have been able to generate vociferous atmospheres, and on top of that, it’s a money-making machine.
The Hill Dickinson could earn up to £40m-a-year in additional revenue, so it’s going to completely change the club’s finances.
With that said, Dan Meis, who was the architect behind the stadium, shared exactly how he designed it back in August.
- READ MORE: The maximum capacity Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium can reach after potential expansion
Dan Meis explained why Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium is so loud
Speaking to Everton’s website earlier this season, Meis explained that they designed the Hill Dickinson’s roof to be as close to the stands as possible to create a louder acoustic.
“I think one of the other things that people will notice is the acoustics of the building, because of the shape of the roof, it was something we worked with our engineers on keeping the shape of the roof and the closeness of the roof to the stands to really enhance the acoustics of the building,” the architect said.
“People often forget how important the noise of the crowd is to the play on the pitch, and that was a big part of our remit to make sure that not only did the fans feel like they were close, the players can hear them and in a way that’s deafening, and it becomes a really intimidating place for opposing players to play.”
He also added that stands have been built so steeply that it feels like the supporters are on top of the pitch, which is how it was at Goodison Park.
“I think another thing is people may be a little bit surprised at how steep the stands are. I spent a lot of time on social media talking to people during the design about how to make sure we didn’t lose the intensity of Goodison.
“We worked very hard to stay as close as possible to the steepest we can be in the regulations.”
Oliver Glasner was blown away by Hill Dickinson Stadium’s atmosphere
Everton’s last win at home came against Crystal Palace at the start of October, with Jack Grealish scoring a stoppage-time winner.
The crowd that day roared David Moyes’ side forward, and Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner admitted the atmosphere actually decided the game in the end.
“The crowd was here, the stadium was loud and they got the confidence back and then I think it was one situation where it was decided,” the Palace boss admitted.
The Toffees have only tasted defeat once at the new stadium, which came last time out against Tottenham Hotspur.
Set-pieces were their ahcillies heel that day, so Moyes will be desperate to rectify that ahead of the clash against Sunderland this evening.
Receive a digest of our best Everton content each week direct to your mailbox
