Clay Partain has been actively pursuing sports related events for Visit Salt Lake over the past 7 years. Over Clay’s watch, the sports segment has grown from a relatively small market space to representing a significant portion of Visit Salt Lake’s total production.
In 2021, Visit Salt Lake launched Sports Salt Lake with the purpose of growing Salt Lake’s reputation as a sports destination. Clay took on a new expanded role as Managing Director of Sports Salt Lake, and now oversees all sales, servicing, marketing, and promotion for the sports market.
In partnership with other community members, in 2021 Sports Salt Lake most recently hosted the USA Weightlifting AO Series Championships, USA Judo Youth Nationals, Jam On It, Triple Crown, PAC-12 Gymnastics Championships, and many others.
Previous to Visit Salt Lake, Clay spent over 10 years working in hotel group sales for Marriott, Radisson, and a private ski resort.
When not working on the next big sports event, Clay spends time with family and enjoying the world’s greatest powder in the Wasatch mountains with his wife and two daughters. Random facts on Clay. He won state in Cross-country while attending a high school in a very small town of Beaver, Oklahoma, can hold his breath over 3 minutes, can juggle reasonably well, is a southpaw, and graduated from the University of Iowa with BS in Geology.