Real Salt Lake Players Choose Park City
Photography: Patrick Cone
Clint Mathis, Forward
When Clint Mathis first visited Park City in January, he knew he’d found the place. Even though he’d considered living in downtown Salt Lake City, Mathis quickly realized that his commute to the team’s training facilities at the University of Utah from Jeremy Ranch would only be about 20 minutes. He was sold. “You’ve got the mountains, a quiet area and nice views,” Mathis says. “You can even see ski runs from the house,” he says.An Atlanta, Georgia native who has lived in Los Angeles, New York City and Hannover, Germany since turning pro, Mathis says that Park City suits his changing lifestyle. “I’m at a point in my life when I’m more interested in settling down and not being as wild as I used to be,” Mathis explains. He will share his new home with his girlfriend.
D.J. Countess, Goalkeeper
“It’s always exciting to tell people you’re going to live in Park City,” says D.J. Countess, “because you know they can’t wait to come and visit.” The Real goalie says he chose his home in Jeremy Ranch because he loves to golf and all the windows in his home offer mountain views. “I got one of those feelings that you get when you’re buying the right home. You just roll with it,” he says.
Countess had explored the area during the winter with his family, and mentions sledding, sightseeing and dining on Main Street as some of his favorite area activities. He looks forward to skiing, learning to snowboard, purchasing a snowmobile and enjoying the Sundance Film Festival. Countess relocates to Park City from Dallas, Texas.
Jason Kreis, Forward
After living in Dallas, Texas for the past nine years, Jason Kreis was looking for something different. After driving around Salt Lake, he headed east, and knew immediately that the mountains were where he wanted to be. Even though he hadn’t heard much about Park City, Kreis instantly found the scenery and the close proximity to the valley attractive. “I think it’s a funny stigma that people from Salt Lake think Park City is far away,” he says. “Twenty minutes to the University of Utah is a walk in a park.”
While Kreis admits that he’s not an avid skier, he says the location offers plenty for him, his wife Kimberly and his 5- and 2-year-old sons. The family looks forward to trying out the range of restaurants, enjoying the outdoors and becoming involved with Park City’s public schools.
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