Athletes, take note: LA may soon lose another sporting goods chain

Sporting goods stores, it seems, are going the way of the dodo.

Sports Authority, the national sporting goods chain, announced last week that it will be closing additional stores following its bankruptcy filing in March in order to pay back more than $1.1 billion in debt. The company will not be pursuing reorganization and exiting bankruptcy, its lawyer Robert Klyman told a judge Tuesday.

There are about a dozen Sports Authority stores in the Los Angeles area, according to its online store locator. It’s unclear when or how many of these will shutter. The L.A. County locations include stores at 1919 South Sepulveda Boulevard in West L.A., 4950 Faculty Avenue in Lakewood and 6346 Pacific Coast Highway in Long Beach.

An auction for most of Sports Authority’s holdings and operations — more than 450 nationwide — will take place May 16, the Wall Street Journal reported. Klyman said that liquidators may come in, and there are no guarantees any of the stores will remain open.

This announcement comes just weeks after West Coast sporting goods chain Sports Chalet announces its mass closings — all 47 of its stores will shutter.

Remaining stores that sell athletic gear, like the Big 5 Sporting Goods chain, could reap the benefits of the recent terminations. [WSJ] — Cathaleen Chen