Sports Authority, a sporting goods store, has recently announced that they will be going out of business due to bankruptcy.

According to money.cnn.com, Sports Authority filed for bankruptcy back in March and stated that they would only close some of their stores. However, they were not able to create a deal with lenders and creditors so they were forced to sell all of their assets. Dick’s Sporting Goods, one of Sports Authority’s competitors, has replaced Sports Authority and is looking to purchase some of their buildings.

Jonathan Witter, a sophomore at Arrowhead, said, “At first, I was sad to hear that Sports Authority was closing. I bought the majority of my sports apparel here. However, once I heard there was a possibility that Dick’s would replace Sports Authority I was no longer concerned. Dicks is very similar to Sports Authority. I will definitely become a frequent customer if they move into Delafield.”

There is a Sports Authority located in Downtown Delafield. The address is 2950 Golf Road Nagawaukee Center Delafield, WI 53018. They are open on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and every other day 9 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Their phone number is (262) 646-4110. This store will be closed at the end of August, and is working to sell all of their items.

According to sportsauthority.com, their stories will continue to markdown items until everything is sold. Currently, items are 40%-60% off. All sales are final and warranties will be discontinued. Many brand name products are receiving hefty discounts but, some items within the store have yet to be marked down.

According to usatoday.com, Sports Authority was not able to keep up with the increase in online sales. They based their success on in-store sales and had some trouble transitioning these sales to online. This caused the company to find themselves deep in debt which resulted in filing for bankruptcy.

Mid-City Sports, a locally owned, family run business which specializes in screen printing, embroidery, and promotional products, said they will be affected by the closing of Sports Authority.

Joe Reuteman, a sale and business development manager at Mid-City Sports, said, “We always looked at Sports Authority as very friendly competition in the fact that they handled equipment and we do not. We would send people there for things we did not carry and they would do the same for us. It will be a void in that aspect – but also an opportunity for us to do some things they we doing successful in the equipment area. Being smaller enables us to be a little more creative as to how we do things at Mid-City Sports. We are not the traditional Sporting Goods store and as we grow you will see that we are truly ‘Community Driven’.”

Wsws.org said that roughly 16,000 Sports Authority employees are going to be layed off. Many of these employees will try to find new jobs at Dick’s, Mid-City sports, and other local companies.