Sports Authority Bankruptcy: Milford Store Spared

By Joe Lipovich (Patch Staff)

MARLBOROUGH, MA—Sports Authority will be closing 140 stores in light of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection filing Wednesday, three of which will reside in the Commonwealth.

According to court documents, Milford's Sports Authority located on Cedar Street will not be closing. The documents indicate that locations in Danvers, Framingham and Holyoke are set to close.

The Colorado-based sporting company has 463 stores in 41 states and Puerto Rico. The store closings are expected to take up to three months.

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.

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.”