Joliet's Sports Authority to Close

JOLIET, IL — Joliet’s Sports Authority will soon be closing its doors after the company announced Wednesday it was in the process of filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Located at 2700 Plainfield Rd., Sports Authority opened less than two years ago before being targeted for closure.

Sports Authority CEO Michael Foss said in a statement on the company's website that no stores will be immediately shut as part of the bankruptcy proceedings.

“As part of that plan, we have identified approximately 140 stores that we intend to close or sell in the coming months,” Foss said. “This was a tough decision to make, but we believe it was a necessary step in our plan to make Sports Authority an even better partner for our customers.”

Foss also said that at this time the closures are expected to have no impact on gift card balances or using gift cards at stores or online. Additionally, all warranties are still in effect and there will be no changes to store return/exchange policies.

On Feb. 23, Moody's Investors Service downgraded Sports Authority's Probability of Default rating to Ca-PD/LD from Caa3-PD and its Corporate Family Rating to Ca from Caa3.

"The negative outlook reflects Moody's view that the company may have difficulty refinancing its debt without restructuring or impairment to lenders," Moody's wrote in their report.

Foss said in the statement that they have decided to “utilize the Chapter 11 process to implement a financial and operational restructuring that we believe is necessary to help us become an even better place for our customers to shop for sporting goods.”

The Colorado-based sporting company has 463 stores in 41 states and Puerto Rico.