Seattle entrepreneur banking on 12th Man to help him fill Super Bowl suites
Jan 22, 2014, 5:11 PM | Updated: Jan 23, 2014, 2:26 pm
(Photo courtesy John Chen)
Seattle entrepreneur John Chen has taken some pretty big risks in his career. But now that he’s got full fledged Seahawks fever, he’s making the riskiest bet of his life – counting on the 12th Man to help him fill three Super Bowl suites.
Chen is the founder and CEO of Geoteaming, a company that offers high-tech treasure hunts for team building.
He tells KIRO Radio he’s bought three suites and is looking to sell 80 seats for the “ultimate Super Bowl Suite adventure.” And you can join him for what promises to be a Bacchanalian week of epic partying for the bargain price of just $30,000.
“We are getting bathing suits, people are going to have bikinis, we’re cranking the heat up and when the cameras come on us it’s because we’re going to be partying in the suites while it’s minus 20 on the field. That’s what I’m talking about,” gushes the super amped-up businessman.
Chen says the NFL has now told him he can’t say how much he spent, but he told the Puget Sound Business Journal he bought the first of the three suites for $400,000 when it became available.
The idea all started when he was looking for accessible seats for his wheelchair-bound mother to attend the game. They’ve been hooked on the Hawks since they started going to games earlier this season.
“We went with my sister and her boyfriend and me and my mom and we had the best time ever. I’ve taken her to every game since and they’ve been winning ever since. So you know, if it’s weird and it works, we’re doing it,” he laughs.
He’s put together an amazing package for the week-long party. It includes four-star accommodations at a Broadway hotel, VIP passes to the legendary Maxim Super Bowl Party, unlimited food and drink in the suite, meet and greets with NFL stars and dinner at New York’s famed Le Bernardin restaurant, where people wait three-months just to get a reservation.
The package also includes front row access to NFL Media Day and entry to NFL House, a private club open only to players, coaches, team owners and their families.
“You could be having a beer with Richard Sherman’s mom or whoever happens to be in there at the time,” he says.
Chen says he’s had plenty of interest in the packages since he first started selling them.
“It broke Facebook on the championship day. I’ve never seen it before. They thought someone hacked my account but it was just everyone messaging me,” he says.
Even those who don’t have an extra $30,000 are welcome. Chen says he’ll gladly trade a seat in exchange for “anything crazy.”
“We don’t say no. We don’t say can’t. We don’t say never. I tell all my friends. You gotta find something of value to me and my team and if you can do that then we will make that trade with you to get you, the 12th Man, to this game.”
Chen, who calls himself a big kid with an old soul, is confident his investment will pay off. And if he can’t sell all the seats? “I am not nervous at all. At least me and my mom are going to have an awesome time,” he laughs.