Regional Sporting Goods Retailer Leaving Connecticut

CONNECTICUT, CT — Modell's is disappearing from the Connecticut business landscape.

The New York-based sporting goods company announced this week it will shutter 24 of its stores across the Northeast. A report by SBG Media cited financial troubles.

All four remaining Connecticut Modell's stores in Newington, Milford, Bridgeport and Stamford are on the closings list, according to associates answering the phone on Thursday. Exact closing dates are uncertain, perhaps in April, they said.

That leaves the Modell's in Port Chester, New York, a short distance across the state line from Greenwich, as the closest location to Connecticut. All Westchester County stores are staying open, an associate said.

Modell's began appearing in Connecticut in the 2000s, especially north of Fairfield County. The chain started gradually disappearing, however. For example, the Modell’s store in the Plaza at Buckland Hills in Manchester closed in 2014 after losing its lease to a new tenant.

Modell's Sporting Goods is billed as America's oldest, family-owned and operated retailer of sporting goods, athletic footwear, "active apparel" and "fan gear."

The chain was founded in 1889 by Morris A. Modell and the first Modell's store was located on Cortlandt Street in lower Manhattan. Its website on Thursday touted more than 150 stores throughout the Northeast.