Sports facility designers Ron Turner and Dan Meis confirmed last week that they’re splitting up as business partners and going their separate ways in Los Angeles.
Attorneys for the architects are handling the legal ramifications of the dissolution of Turner-Meis Associates, Meis said. The firm had 15 full-time employees and four designers, including Turner and Meis.
One partner will likely buy out the other’s assets, Meis said.
“It could go either way,” he said. “We’re trying to determine the best way to separate and what it means to our ongoing projects.”
Their deals include designing a master plan for the U.S. Tennis Association complex in Flushing Meadows, N.Y., planning a large-scale renovation of Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for an NFL franchise and seating expansion at Dodger Stadium. The three clients are aware of the split, Meis said.
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| Meis and Turner |
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| "We’re trying to determine ... what it means to our ongoing projects" |
| Dan Meis
TurnerMeis Associates |
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Turner declined to comment on why he decided to part ways with Meis, with whom he has worked the past 14 years at Ellerbe Becket, NBBJ and Turner-Meis. Meis said he had previously put together a proposal explaining how they could still work together with Meis balancing two jobs.
“Dan and I are still having friendly negotiations on how we move forward,” Turner said. “I don’t personally think it’s good for us to talk about it until we have the issues resolved.”
Dodger Stadium’s new field-level seats designed by Turner-Meis have drawn criticism in the local media for having poor sight lines and reportedly could be redesigned. Meis noted that he had little involvement with the Dodgers project beyond helping with the initial design.
Turner said he was the principal in charge of the project and deferred further comment to the Dodgers.
Josh Rawitch, the Dodgers’ director of public relations, didn’t return a call for comment.
The breakup occurred three months after Meis was named president of Nadel Architects in Los Angeles. Turner and Meis were renting space in Nadel’s office, and Meis continued to focus on their sports practice.
Meis said he thinks Turner believed that Meis’ role as president of another company would dilute his focus on their sports jobs.
“My whole reasoning was to become part of a much larger and stronger delivery mechanism, and still pursue [sports] projects I was always interested in pursuing in the first place,” Meis said.
“The intent was not to create a sports group at Nadel, but to lead the firm and elevate its design reputation,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to ignore what I’ve been doing for the past [14] years.”
