Sports retailer Modell’s Sporting Goods has voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and will close all of its stores, the company announced on Wednesday.

There are over 30 Modell’s stores in New Jersey, according to the company’s website, and more than 140 locations nationwide.

Mitchell Modell, the company’s chief executive officer, cited a challenging retail environment as the reason for the closures and bankruptcy.

“Over the past year, we evaluated several options to restructure our business to allow us to maintain our current operations," Modell said in the statement. "While we achieved some success, in partnership with our landlords and vendors, it was not enough to avoid a bankruptcy filing amid an extremely challenging environment for retailers.”

The Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition was filed in New Jersey.

During the bankruptcy process, Modell’s will initiate store-closing liquidation sales in all stores, the statement said, while continuing online sales. Modell’s is seeking to potentially sell some or all of its assets or an equity investment.

The news comes after The New York Post reported the company was preparing to file as early as March 8, and that select companies are seeking to buy the retailer out of bankruptcy.

Modell’s announced last month it was closing 24 locations nationwide in an attempt to “preserve the whole company and save the jobs of 4,300 families.”

In New Jersey, it had been known that stores in Eatontown, Englishtown, West Berlin and Woodbridge were closing.

Modell’s was founded in 1889. The first store was located on Cortlandt Street in Manhattan.

Nicolette Accardi can be reached at naccardi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter: @N_Accardi. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips

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