By Brian Whitwham
“He’s the man who decided to bring professional football back to the field,” bellowed the announcer’s voice through the speakers at Frank Clair Stadium as Brad Watters walked on to the field to do the opening kick-off at an Ottawa Gee-Gee’s game.
On Oct. 10, just three days prior, the Canadian Football League’s board of governors had voted unanimously, after months of negotiations, to grant an Ottawa franchise to Watters and his partners.
The team will start playing in the 2002 season at Frank Clair Stadium. Ottawa has not had a CFL team since the Rough Riders, who folded after 1996.
“We’re going to bring the game back to the fans,” says Watters.
At 31, he’s the owner of three professional lacrosse teams, the Ottawa Rebel, the Toronto Rock and the Montreal Express.
Joining him in the ownership of the new CFL team are his lacrosse partners, Randy Gilles and Kevin Kimsa, plus Bill Smith and Brad’s father, Bill Watters, a former Toronto Argonaut and now an executive in the Maple Leafs organization.
“We’re Canadians bringing the team back to a Canadian city,” says Brad Watters.
“We know the fan base is here,” says Gilles. “We just need to put that support together in the form of a winning team and that’s what we’re going to do.”
“We have to have at least a three-year time frame,” said Watters. “Be competitive in the first year and move it in the right direction in second year.”
Gilles says the owners would love to see Ottawa play in the 2004 Grey Cup that will be played on their home field.
Either way, Watters says that Ottawa fans can look forward to “stability” because his group knows what it’s doing and it isn’t going to leave.
“We aren’t going to run out,” says Watters. “We know we’re good at running pro-sports franchises and this is just on a bigger scale.”
“It’s about bringing the team back and having a good time,” says Watters. “I want it to be family-affordable and a lot of fun.”
Single-seat tickets range in price from $15 to $50.
On the day the CFL announced the Ottawa franchise, Watters made a commitment that ticket prices would not increase for the next three years.
The first buyer of season’s tickets on that day was none other than Mayor Bob Chiarelli, who purchased two tickets for seats on the south side of the stadium.
“I’ve always been a south-sider,” he said. “I had tickets on the south side 30 years ago.”
Watters says that while his group wants the team to be competitive, it also wants the organization as a whole to be well-respected and active in the community.
“We just want to make sure that the public know that we’re not just about business,” says Kevin Kimsa, “and that we’re committed to community development.”
From a marketing perspective, Kimsa says more promoting will need to be aimed at the city’s youth because they may not have the vivid memories of the Rough Riders that older fans have.
Greg Hotte, director of Communications for the Ottawa Rebel and the new CFL franchise, says involvement in local sports is one of the ways the new team will contribute to community development.
In the meantime, Watters says the organization has a lot of work to do. First, a team name will have to be determined. Frank Clair Stadium will also require renovations that Watters says will include a new clock and the replacement of certain seating sections.
“This is the nation’s capital,” he says. “This has got to be done right.”
In the end, Watters says they want to build a competitive, community-oriented organization that is worthy of respect both on and off the field.