March 2, 2016 By Michael Florio
Sports Authority plans to close nearly one third of its 450 stores, the company announced today.
The company, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, plans to cut 140 stores nationwide. If the court grants it bankruptcy protection, the troubled retailer will be able to break its leases on money losing stores and shut them down.
The future of the two Queens Sports Authority locations, one located at 51-30 Northern Blvd. in Woodside and the other at 73-25 Woodhaven Blvd. in Glendale, is unclear.
A Sports Authority spokesperson said in an email, “we can’t confirm store closures at any specific locations at this time.”
The 140 stores are slated to be closed within the next three months, the company said in a statement.
“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,” Michael Foss, Chief Executive Officer of Sports Authority, said in a statement.
The sporting goods chain has struggled in recent years, according to Wall Street analysts. The company has lost market share to online retailers, become swamped with $1.1 billion in debt and has failed to keep pace with consumer trends, such as golf’s decline in popularity.
Foss is looking to use bankruptcy protection to give the troubled company a second chance.
“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.
Update: This story has been updated to include a Sport Authority spokesperson’s comment.
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25 Comments
According to this list, none of the Sports Authoritys in Queens are closing.
http://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2016/03/02/heres-the-list-of-sports-authority-stores-on-the-block/
Personally, every time I’ve been in store the employees have been pleasant and helpful especially in the sneaker section but everything in that store can be found much cheaper elsewhere. And not just $4 cheaper. Last week I tried on $100 sneakers then went home and ordered them for $65 off another retailers website
Please put up a luxury apartment building here. Its got the space and is right on the R,M. We need to build smart and get a better class of people in that neck of the woods. More luxury housing!
just like staples..this amount of retail space is not needed anymore…..staples is sub dividing its property on queens blvd an 58th……
with just in time shipping you can go in try on and buy and get it delivered in a day or two……truthfully not many people today really need sneakers or sports equipment RIGHT NOW immediately let me put them on i have a game in 20 minutes!
This would be a great location for Trader Joe’s!!!
Bring it on!
That would be a good location for a middle school.
they should keep these stores around, how am igonna know what to buy on amazon if i cant try it out first in a store!!???
-Save Sunnyside When have you seen a welfare hotel built out of brand new construction by a developer no less? New hospitality hotels are “newly” built by developers like the Z hotel, The Hilton Garden Inn LIC, The Wyndham Garden LIC, Four Points Sheraton, Holiday Inn, Homewood Suites, Paper Factory..It took the West Way and Pan American Hotels well over 50 years to become welfare hotels..Stop “dumbing” down the conversation. That’s a big lot of land lets hope that the administration doesn’t try annex it for the nearby NYCHA Woodside Houses.
@Dave First off, why don’t you do a little research & find out how much the city is paying the landlords such as the Pan Am hotel monthly… Rates are anywhere between 3 to 6k a month,that’s steady income, it’s not relying on “guests” every night to fill their rooms.
You’ll even be able to look up the hasidic developers (that obviously are under different development co names) that are buying up property for exclusively building these type of “hotels” !
Secondly, are you too ignorant to realize when someone is being sarcastic as i was being with the earlier post?
Also, it wasn’t said for certain this particular one would be closing. although, I’m sure it will be.
PS: where in the article did it mention “developers”?
Oh, i see… You just took it upon yourself to assume this one would be shutting down & taken over by developers. Even though it’s not mentioned in the article at all..
Talk amongst yourselves
-Save Sunnyside three quartes of the lot is a parking which is undeveloped land which means it is undeveloped and would be in need of development. This development would require a developer, that’s a given and doesn’t even need to be mentioned by the author of the article you fool.
@Save Sunnyside First off I already have done a little research and am well aware of the fact that city pays rates to welfare hotel owners above the average hospitality industry rates. This fact wasn’t even mentioned in your original post and like I said it took the WestWay and Pan American Hotels well over 50 years to become welfare hotels. As for the developer angle of your “straw grasping” post…Only a small portion of that huge lot is developed, the vast majority of this space is a empty parking lot and would need to be developed with sewers, plumbing and power supplies, let alone a structure..You need to have this spelled out in the article for you to figure this out? Who sounds ignorant?
@david
It’s not going to take 50yrs! They’re building these hotel/motels for the sole purpose of having them used by the city for the homeless NOW you fool!!! If they said they’re building a homeless shelter, idiots like u would finally wake up & bitch about it, but if they say hotel, u think it’s good for the neighborhood!
And yes, ur mayor & other city officials know all about this & are on board with it bcuz they need to solve the homelessness problem now, not in 50 yrs! They don’t give a crap about a 1/2 block here & there when in the grand scheme of things, his approval #’s depend more on how many homeless people there are/aren’t & not that if ur happy or not with a 100 homeless families moving into a building on Northern Blvd.
Try thinking of the corp Samaritan Village…
You just don’t get it, so I’ll save my breath.
Best of luck.
-Save Sunnyside What a frenzied fit of deranged madness. Get some help you hysterical buffoon. LOL
I wouldn’t mind seeing Dick’s Sporting Goods move in and see what selection they offer. I never like the layout/interior lighting that SA had as well. Made the place feel shady.
Hotel/Homeless Shelter or 20 story apt building coming?
Fight amongst yourselves now…
It’s a crying shame. These brick and mortar stores just can’t compete with Amazon, E-Bay and other online retailers. I have never seen so many packages coming to the buildings. Everyday but Sunday looks like Christmas season back in the 1970’s. Is this convenience really worth the damage it does to local economies?
The brick-and-mortar stores need to adjust to the trends of retail. Their current approach is a huge failure and THAT is why they’re failing. The retail industry does not exist to provide jobs. Sure, clerks, cashiers, and stock people will always be needed, somewhere, but why should my cost for a pair of size 10 Nikes have to pay for that? Jobs like this have been disappearing for decades. Don’t blame online retailers for picking up those who were driven away.
Local economies, shmocal economies. It’s about competition.
“Local economy?” You do realize Sports Authority is a corporate chain store, right?
SA has a bad business model. You are obviously too ignorant to notice Best Buy, right across the street, was failing and had to change it’s business model to survive. Other businesses on Northern Blvd are thriving.
You obviously are old and your brain has atrophied if you can’t adapt to progress and you see convenience as a ‘crying shame.’
@z1ny Wow did you miss the point of Joe’s post. His post closed with “Is this convenience really worth the damage it does to local economies?” You’re the one whose “brain has atrophied”. I for one don’t mind walking down the street and spending an extra $4.00 for a pair of size 10 sneakers knowing that extra $4.00 helps employ my neighbors high school aged kid, pays local sales taxes, a store whose customers and employees pump money into neighboring business in the area.. The other business’ on Northern Blvd. won’t be as thriving when the employees and foot traffic created by Best and Sports Authority are gone and quite possibly be the next to close. Joe is absolutely right Brick and Mortar pump money into a local economy regardless of their “chain store” status, You lack the ability to comprehend the very principle of “causation”. You’re obviously young and don’t know history and only doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past and cheer on the destruction of your community and country in the process. What does Amazon and E-bay give to you and your local area in return for the $4.00 they saved you? Joe meets the definition of old but we can’t help but to grow old, you meet the definition of chump and and chump is a choice.
But it’s not an extra $4…I went to SA to buy Nike golf shoes. SA had them for $140, Nike was charging $100 at the Nike store. I told the manager and showed him the price on my phone. He said he would change it but to this day they are the same price and that was last year. I ended up buying the same shoes online last year for $70. So I saved $70 not $4
You don’t understand basic economic theory. Chain stores like Sports Authority, Best Buy and Home Depot don’t even put money back into the community the way a ‘local’ store would. All that revenue goes to shareholders and executives. If you REALLY wanted to contribute you would find some local retailer.
You have a completely uneducated perspective if you think Northern Blvd is going to ‘go out of business’ anytime soon.
-z1ny You’re the one who has demonstrated no understanding of basic economic theory. Chain stores like Sports Authority, Home Depot and Best Buy do put money into a local economy the same way as local stores and Emily has outlined them in her post. All revenue does not go back to shareholders and executives, “profits” do..You have the gall call someone’s perspective uneducated when you don’t know the difference between “revenue” and income vs. “profits.” Emily didn’t say anything about Northern Blvd going out of business anytime soon, she referred to the domino effect due to the repercussion of store closings which is an actual phenomena.
-Sean it’s amazing how many people who post to this sight have a disdain for actual honest factual discussion. Notice how this imbicile refused to a acknowledge his misconception and questions to his very own posts. Notice how this person immediately starts insulting people. A great example of the dumbing down of our country.
-z1ny Its always nice being called ignorant by somebody who obviously knows a lot less than you do..As far as Best Buy, it;s still struggling. You really need to brush up on your high school Macro Economics and Accounting. Thank god for the anonymity of the internet or you could have really have humiliated yourself on this comment stream. Come back when you get an education and get some manners in the process.
You’re entitled to your opinion but there is no reason to be
mean and rude.