Bill Watchorn’s first association with the Canadian Football League came long before he emerged as a vital figure with the Winnipeg Football Club in the 2000s.
Born in Toronto, his first CFL-related ‘gig’ came with the Argonauts working in concessions as a kid. And with that began an affiliation with football that would see him become a Blue Bombers season-ticket holder in the 1980s upon moving to Winnipeg in the late 70s, to a spot on the football club’s board of directors in 2006, to ultimately serving as the team’s chairperson from 2010-12 and remaining on the board through 2015.
And now he’s the newest member of the club’s hall of fame as part of the 2024 induction class along with the 1984 Grey Cup champion Blue Bombers. He will be formally inducted Tuesday night at the team’s annual Gala Dinner in support of amateur football.
“My initial reaction when I got the news was surprise, and from my family’s point of view this is really neat. It’s such an honour,” said Watchorn in a chat with bluebombers.com. “And then I think about how there are so many other people who put in considerable work.
“When I get involved in a board, I tend to look at something where I can make a difference – just being a board member doesn’t do it for me. But being a board member when you can help is awesome.”
A chartered accountant by trade, Watchorn came to Winnipeg in 1979 to work with CanWest Global Communications before moving to Vancouver. It was during his days in B.C. that he met Edgar Kaiser, Jr. and was heavily involved in that family’s purchase of the Denver Broncos in 1981 for $29 million.
Married with a wife and young daughter, Watchorn opted to move back to Winnipeg in 1983 to work for Federal Industries. He also later served as the President and CEO of ENSIS Corporation.
Watchorn came to the WFC board with over 30 years of experience in financial and operational management and played a vital role in the football club’s financial restructuring as well as securing the financing through negotiations with the government for the new facility, now called Princess Auto Stadium.
Bill Watchorn
“The Blue Bombers are a major institution in the city and at the time I joined the board there was some talk of a new stadium, although it was very preliminary,” Watchorn recalled. “As I spent some time on the board it became increasingly obvious that a new stadium was required, more particularly, a better funding and financial situation was also required.
“It was about sustainability. We needed a new, attractive venue. We needed a sound financial basis for the new stadium, and we needed some continuing revenue opportunities that they didn’t have back then. That was the collective strategy that the board endorsed and were very significant participants.
“You can’t be operating year to year wondering about surviving for another year,” he added. “Within the context of a new stadium and improved funding it became a project. Initially it was as a board member and then when the stadium idea came up, they wanted someone to help negotiate it with the government and as chair I took on a more direct responsibility of that with a couple other people.”
A stadium project requires more than simply negotiating with the government. It involves other financial elements, like the stadium naming rights, and the club needed to build up its operating reserve. Watchorn played an important part in that, although he humbly suggested there were many, many others who were instrumental.
“I did help lead the negotiations with the government (on the new stadium) but there were other very significant inputs that made it possible to do a deal with the government,” he said. “That’s why I was so surprised to be nominated like I had been because there were other very deserving members on the board.”
Watchorn on the site of the stadium during its construction
Watchorn’s community involvement extended beyond the football club, as he was a director and board member for various other corporations and community organizations and events, including the United Way, Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, Economic Development Winnipeg and as the sponsorship chair of the 1999 World Junior Hockey Championships here in Manitoba.
And now when he steps foot in the building he had a part in getting built – one of the Canadian Football League’s crown jewels and a place that has now led the CFL in attendance for two straight seasons and is en route to do so again in 2024 – Watchorn can only beam with pride.
“It’s an awesome facility,” he said. “We were initially concerned about the location, but it’s turned out to be a very good location and the university became a very good partner.
“It’s something all of us involved in are proud of to this day.”