Sports Authority Closing Sales to Launch By Memorial Day

Sports Authority is already liquidating 140 of its 460-plus stores; the rest will soon follow.

ENGLEWOOD, CO—Cannabis brand O.penVAPE said Thursday it had submitted a proposal to take over naming rights for Mile High Stadium, home of the Denver Broncos, from Sports Authority. It was the latest development in the saga of the bankrupt retailer, and coincided with reports in local news media across the US that all of its stores would be closing. Sports Authority had filed court documents earlier this week revealing that it planed to shutter all 450-plus of its stores in 41 states and Puerto Rico after failing to find a buyer. Still up in the air is the future of its corporate offices in the Denver suburb of Englewood, CO. A consortium of Gordon Brothers, Hilco Merchant Resources and Tiger Capital Group was the winning bidder for Sports Authority’s inventory, court documents show. The group paid 101% of the cost of the retailer’s inventory, plus a $1.8-million augment guarantee, the Wall Street Journal reported. Court documents show that the liquidation sales at all Sports Authority locations are scheduled to begin on around May 25 and conclude on or around August 31, although objections or limited objections to the liquidation plan were still being filed as of Thursday. Still to come is an auction for the remaining store leases; it’s scheduled for June 29, with a deadline of July 8 to file objections. Citing debt of more than $1.1 billion, Sports Authority filed for Chapter 11 protection this past March at US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. At the time, the company planned to shutter 140 of its stores amid a reorganization of the business; Gordon Brothers and Tiger Capital are already conducting liquidation sales at those locations. However, that plan was scrapped after the retailer and its creditors were unable to come to terms. As of earlier this week, about 80 store leases had received bids, both from competitors Modell’s and Dick’s Sporting Goods and from non-sporting goods retailers, the WSJ reported. The two sporting goods chains’ bids surprised observers on the low side, according to the WSJ .