Say goodbye to another Sporting Store Chain - Sports Authority Files For Bankruptcy, Will Close One Third Of Its Stores

Following weeks of fertile speculation whether it will or won't file for bankruptcy, this morning Colorado-based Sports Authority, whose name graces the home stadium to the Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos, put all doubts to rest when it filed Chapter 11 in Delaware bankruptcy court (Case 16-10527) listing $500,000-$1 Bn in assets and between $1 and 10 billion in liabilities in its bankruptcy filing, adding that it will close as many as 140 of its 463 locations. As part of its bankruptcy process, the bankrupt retailer reported that it has access to a $595 million in debtor in possession financing loan.

In its summary of the company's recent, troubled and overlevered history Bloomberg writes that Sports Authority has fallen far since a $1.3 billion buyout in 2006 piled it with debt. "In 2006, the chain was even with Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. in sales. Today, Dick’s has hundreds more locations and takes in almost twice as much per store, making it the U.S. leader in selling athletic gear, while Englewood, Colorado-based Sports Authority’s debt load has hampered its ability to expand or innovate."

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