Meis began his career in
Chicago under the mentorship of architect
Helmut Jahn. He later co-founded the sports and entertainment practice of
NBBJ before establishing his own firm, MEIS Architects, in 2007. It has offices in
New York City and
Los Angeles, California. His firm has recently formed a partnership with
Maria Sharapova to build tennis, fitness, and wellness centers. MEIS is also working with entertainment giant
Live Nation to design venue upgrades across a portfolio of outdoor amphitheaters. His design for AS Roma's Stadio Della Roma includes football's tightly organized seating bowls. The stadium is wrapped in a floating stone "scrim", which is intended to evoke the
Colosseum. Currently under construction, the new MEIS designed MLS stadium for FC Cincinnati, located in Cincinnati's West End neighborhood, will have an estimated seating capacity of 26,000 to 26,500. While at
Ellerbe Becket in the 1990s, Meis designed the indoor arena Nynex Arena (now
Manchester Arena) in Manchester, England, and led the design competition that won the $750 million
Saitama Super Arena in Japan. Meis then left Ellerbe Becket to join NBBJ, establishing NBBJ's sports division with Michael Hallmark and Ron Turner. Meis designed the
Staples Center in Los Angeles, the Dodge Theater (now
Comerica Theatre) in Phoenix,
Miller Park in Milwaukee,
Safeco Field in Seattle,
Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, and
Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, which was the first NFL facility to win an AIA design award. == Awards ==