Recovering economy inspires big dreamers
Philanthropist Ellen Remai continues to shower money on Saskatoon’s new art gallery, which bears her name.
As the long-delayed opening of the over-budget Remai Modern Art Gallery of Saskatchewan approached earlier this month, Remai found a way to top her previous multimillion dollar gifts.
She announced $25 million over 25 years for art purchases and another possible $25 million in matching donations for art purchases and programs over 25 years.
That potential $50 million is added to the Frank and Ellen Remai Foundation’s $16 million for the construction of the gallery, $15 million for programming, $2 million to buy art and a $20-million Picasso linocut collection.
All told, the potential grand total is pretty grand: $103 million.
As staggering as Remai’s contributions have been, we’ve seen many indications lately that there’s plenty of private money out there willing to fund projects that will benefit the community.
There’s gold in them thar plains.
Whether or not it’s because Saskatoon’s economy is expected to grow this year after two straight years of recession, there seems to be a lot of potential projects proceeding with only peripheral government cash.
The Conference Board of Canada forecasts 3.6 per cent growth in Saskatoon’s gross domestic product in 2017 and another two per cent next year.
Including Remai’s contributions, fundraising for the gallery totalled $27 million. That includes $1,000 contributions for plaques on the 147 seats in the SaskTel Theatre.
Naming rights were sold for everything in the gallery, from elevators to stairwells to terraces. There’s no sponsors for the washrooms, in case you’re wondering, but there seems to have been no shortage of sponsors.
Meanwhile, just south of the Saskatoon Field House, the $42.9-million Merlis Belsher Place is rising. The twin-pad rink and recreation facility will replace the University of Saskatchewan’s Rutherford Rink, which was built in 1929. That makes the rink older than Clint Eastwood, but less sturdy.
An additional contribution of $3 million from the City of Saskatoon sparked a spirited debate at city council, but the $4 million total from the city is less than a third of the $12.25 million Belsher donated.
In total, fundraising efforts targeted $29 million, with the rink facility set to open in 2018 and provide some much-needed relief for the squeeze on ice time.
The Friends of the Bowl Foundation, which is funding upgrades to the Gordie Howe Sports Complex, has some friends with deep pockets, too.
Since 2012, the foundation has been working to raise $50 million to rehabilitate the football field and add a track facility. It now stands just $15 million short of its goal after an anonymous $15-million donation last month.
The Friends of the Bowl asked cash-strapped city council for $5 million over five years during an event last month where proponents of seven recreation projects appealed for help from the city.
The $5 million sought by Friends of the Bowl qualifies as a substantial sum, but it would still be a fraction of the fundraising total.
What was striking when the various project proponents appeared before council was not how much money they were seeking, but how little.
The Children’s Discovery Museum, scheduled to open in the former Mendel Art Gallery building in 2019, asked for $2 million from the city, part of $15 million being raised to make the museum come to life. It’s slated to open in 2019.
The city is spending $1.3 million to upgrade the Mendel building, which it will then lease to the museum.
The folks wanting to bring a professional soccer team to Saskatoon as part of an embryonic Canadian league aren’t looking for any money to help build a $20-million stadium. They just want land at some point.
Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan aims to build a $3-million permanent facility, but that project is either “to be or not to be” on its own financing. No money is sought from the city. That’s the same as a $5-million scheme for a water park at the weir.
Fundraising also continues for a $5.5-million winter activity centre at Diefenbaker Park.
That’s more than $125 million in planned projects. It doesn’t mean they will all materialize, but it points to a recovering economy and dreamers who are confident there’s millions of dollars out there.