Though Goleta — and Santa Barbara County as a whole, in fact — will be bidding farewell to its only Sports Authority store by the end of August, the area will not lose any sporting retail space.
Dick’s Sporting Goods will be replacing Sports Authority in the city’s Camino Real Marketplace, though the exact date hasn’t yet been determined.
In a statement, Sports Authority CEO Michael Foss said all of the company’s stores will be closed within the next two months.
“Sports Authority and its predecessor companies have been serving the sporting goods needs of our customers since 1919,” Foss wrote. “It is with great sadness that we are intending to close all of our stores by the end of August.”
When the Englewood, Colo.-based company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March, it stated that it was $1.1 billion in the red due to falling sales and increases in online shopping.
According to a sales associate with Sports Authority, the Goleta location employs about 35 people and doesn’t yet know when it is slated close its doors for good. Another 449 stores will also close.
On June 30, it was announced in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware that the Pennsylvania-based Dick’s Sporting Goods had won the rights to Sports Authority’s intellectual property and would be taking over 31 of its stores, including No. 653 in Goleta.
Dick’s Sporting Goods is the largest retailer of its kind in the country. Reuters reported that the chain’s winning bid for Sports Authority’s intellectual property totaled $15 million, plus another $8 million for the 31 stores.
The bankruptcy court is scheduled to consider its approval of the deal on July 15.
“On behalf of the entire Sports Authority team, I would like to express our sincere appreciation to our customers for their years of loyalty,” Foss wrote. “It has been a pleasure to serve you and your family.”
The business at 7035 Market Place Dr. is offering sales of 30 to 50 percent off most items in the meantime, and all of its sales are final.
— Noozhawk staff writer Sam Goldman can be reached at sgoldman@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.