North Haven Sports Authority To Close

NORTH HAVEN -- The Sports Authority on Universal Drive in North Haven will be among the 140 stores closing nationwide in the wake of the company’s bankruptcy filing on Wednesday.

Two other Connecticut locations, in Bridgeport and Danbury, will also close. The Bridgeport location, which is near the Trumbull and Fairfield town lines, opened in November 2014 to much fanfare.

The stores will be closing over the next three months.

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In January, the company, owned by a Los Angeles-based private equity firm, announced it had missed a $20 million debt payment.

CEO Michael Foss sent an email to customers Wednesday to explain the process.

"Due to the changing retail environment, we have a long-term plan to streamline and strengthen our business so we can continue to make necessary investments in our operations, including upgrading our in store experience and enhancing our website," he said.

Outside of stores closing customers shouldn't be affected by the Chapter 11 bankruptcy process. Foss outlined the following in the email:

• We do not expect there to be any impact on gift card balances or your ability to use gift cards at our stores or online at this time.
• In addition, there should be no changes to our return/exchange policies at our go-forward stores or our customer loyalty program, The League.
• If you have a warranty on a product you bought at Sports Authority, it is still in effect for the same period of time.
• Finally, this should have no impact on the way you use your Sports Authority credit card or pay your bill.

The list comes from bankruptcy filing documents.

The 140 stores targeted for closure is nearly one-third of the company's total of 450 stores, reports CNN Money, and the stores will be closed over the next three months.

If the company is granted approval from a bankruptcy judge, liquidation sales could begin as soon as Friday, reports USA Today.

Sports Authority has 14,500 full- and part-time employees with more than $1 billion in liabilities and assets between $500,000 and $1 billion.

Additional reporting by TIM DARNELL