Sports Authority plans to "shutter about 140 of its 450 stores," according to a source cited by Alicia Wallace of the DENVER POST. It is "unknown how many" of the retailer's 31 Colorado locations "may be targeted for closure." The closures come as Sports Authority, the "fourth-largest sporting goods retailer in the U.S., is reportedly on the brink of bankruptcy." Saddled with at least $643M in debt, the company missed a $21M interest payment in January. The payment's 30-day grace period "was up on Sunday" (DENVER POST, 2/18). In Dallas, Maria Halkias cited sources as saying that Sports Authority is "closing all 25 of its Texas stores." Special chains like Sports Authority have "struggled as they have opened too many stores and online shopping continued to pluck customers from its stores" (DALLASNEWS.com, 2/17).
STAY THE COURSE? In Denver, Jason Blevins notes while Sports Authority "girds for restructuring under an imminent bankruptcy filing, marketing experts say the gasping company should not dim its glowing red presence" on Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Metropolitan State Univ. marketing professor Darrin Duber-Smith said, "You have got to keep spending on marketing and you have got to reposition and shore up your defenses in your home market. And a billboard on a highway in a city that is growing by 15,000 people a month, at a stadium that is home to the Super Bowl champions, that's a very good deal." Blevins notes the naming-rights deal for the facility, which Sports Authority "took over" from struggling investment firm Invesco in '11, costs the company $6-7M a year (DENVER POST, 2/18).
