Business

Sports Authority on Route 58 in Riverhead to close

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National sports retail chain Sports Authority declared bankruptcy Tuesday and its Riverhead location is among those the chopping block.

The Route 58 store, located next to Target, is due to close along with 139 other locations across the country, according to court documents filed in Delaware as part of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding. Closures will hit about one-third of Sports Authority stores nationwide.

Three other locations on Long Island — Stony Brook, Commack and Garden City — are also set to be shut down, along with locations in Brooklyn, Yonkers and the Bronx, according to the company.

CEO Michael Foss cited a “changing retail environment” as a cause of the bankruptcy and said stores will close over the next three months.

“We are taking this action so that we can continue to adapt our business to meet the changing dynamics in the retail industry,” Mr. Foss said. “We intend to use the Chapter 11 process to streamline and strengthen our business both operationally and financially so that we have the financial flexibility to continue to make necessary investments in our operations.”

The loss of Riverhead’s Sport Authority is the latest in a growing trend of box stores shutting down in Riverhead.

Two closings — Borders in 2011 and Waldbaum’s last year — were the result of company bankruptcy. A King Kullen location on Route 58 also shut down last November after choosing not to renew its lease.

Gala Fresh Farms store has since filled that empty space.