At six-feet six-inches, Jeff Melanson stands well above other men’s heads. But it’s a different kind of stature that makes people take a second or third look.
As president of the Banff Centre, Melanson has a vision to expand the 80-year-old Rocky Mountain jewel into an agile 21st century arts, media, science and business powerhouse. The tab for his vision is expected to reach $1 billion.
The savvy arts administrator with an MBA is equally at ease with Alberta’s governing Conservatives and energy-rich philanthropists as with small city service clubs.
To stimulate interest for the project, he’s travelled across the province spreading the message both publicly and privately. On Friday, Jan. 17 he travelled to St. Albert’s Rotary Club to deliver a PowerPoint presentation on the tentative plans.
His ambitious strategy includes embracing radio stations, a TV channel, a publishing house and website material under one umbrella. The incubation spaces would remain on Tunnel Mountain, where the centre is now located, but new theatres and facilities are envisioned for downtown Banff.
Moving the performance spaces to the town would update the centre as well as give downtown Banff a cultural boost and an architectural facelift.
The move is geared towards creating a global think-tank that would attract Nobel Prize laureates and business executives as well as international artists in every discipline.
He envisions a western Davos, Switzerland where 4,000 of the world’s leaders meet annually at the World Economic Forum to discuss the planet’s issues.
Personally, Melanson would like to attract dignitaries and leaders such as President Bill Clinton, Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberté and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
“If we are interested in being a global player, we have to make commitments,” Melanson said.
Melanson is a prairie boy who cemented his career in Toronto before coming to Alberta. Earning a bachelor of music from the University of Winnipeg, he held the position of dean at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto.
By 2006, he moved up the corporate ladder as executive director at the National Ballet School. During his tenure in Toronto he raised $500 million.
Melanson knows there are fat wallets in Alberta and no one is better positioned than the canny but charismatic arts administrator to channel them for the cultural good.
When two low-power stations became available, the centre scooped them up. One will broadcast in English, the other in French. A third new station will air Banff Centre performances and talks while a fourth station will be an online streaming service blending mountain and arts programming.
A TED-like website where on-demand talks and performances can be viewed will be launched this spring. Melanson has hired staff for Banff Centre Publishing and three books were published last year with more planned for the future.
With a TV station under consideration, Melanson mentioned to Rotarians “we would like to move BRAVO to Banff.”
He went on to explain that while millions of tourists visit Banff every year, only a fraction make the trek up Tunnel Mountain. As a way to increase the centre’s visibility and presence, the blueprints include a 1,000 seat theatre plus a 300-seat theatre, a smaller club site, and a visual and digital arts and photography gallery. It would be built in downtown Banff on an empty lot.
“In terms of showcasing what Canada can be, we have to rely on the infrastructure. We can’t just rely on the mountains.”
The price tag is a hefty $900-million. This is in addition to the $100-million planned Peter Lougheed Leadership Institute.
The centre’s current operating budget is just under $60-million and when examining the enormous leap in finances, some consider the project a pipe dream.
However Dr. Alan Murdock, a St. Albert Rotarian who escorted Melanson to the club, showed a strong willingness for the project.
“If you run world-class programs, you need a centre to fit the programming. When you talk about the Banff Centre, you’re talking about the NHL of culture, science and business. Banff Centre has a broad scope. I don’t see it (project) as unconceivable,” Murdock said.
As the main fundraiser, Melanson is employing the “P3” fundraising formula – one-third of costs from the federal government, one-third from the provincial government and one-third from the public and private sector.
“I’m an optimist. The fastest this can happen is six years, more likely 10. If we have to scale it down, we will. If we only get partial funding we will scale it down,” Melanson commented.
He sees the new Banff Centre as a robust idea and continues giving daily presentations to interested groups. He has also just hired an international administrator as the new vice-president and his name will be announced in four weeks.
“I still have to pinch myself on our luck in getting him.”
In the meantime, he said, “I love the creativity, the innovation, the problem solving. The centre is all about renewal and innovation and we are completely positioned to build something that does not yet exist in Canada.”
