Modell’s Sporting Goods has no first responder discount today, and the reason is more specific than most Unavailable posts on this site: the retail chain first responders would remember filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and closed every physical store. What runs at modells.com now is a different, online-only operation under new ownership, and it carries no first responder or military program.
Modell’s was founded in 1889 and grew into a major sporting goods chain across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, known for team gear, cleats, and fan merchandise. In 2020, after more than 130 years in business, the company filed for Chapter 11 and began liquidating all 153 of its remaining stores, citing poor holiday sales and mounting debt just as COVID-19 began disrupting retail broadly.
How To Get The Modell’s First Responder Discount
There isn’t one to claim. No ID.me listing exists for the brand under either a military or a first responder search, and the current modells.com site, run by a different company than the one that filed for bankruptcy, has no discount program of its own visible on the site.
Is Modell’s Actually Still In Business?
In a limited sense, yes, but not as the store chain you may remember. The original company’s physical stores are gone. The modells.com domain and name are now operated by Omni Retail Enterprises as an online sporting goods and fan gear store, unrelated to the family that ran the original chain. Separately, the Modell family has been building its own new venture under a different name, aiming at physical stores again down the road. Neither one currently runs a first responder discount.
Q&A
Q: Are there any Modell’s store locations left to shop at in person?
A: No. All 153 remaining stores were liquidated in the bankruptcy. Anything at modells.com today is online-only.
Q: Is the current modells.com website legitimate?
A: It appears to be a real, functioning online store selling team sports gear, apparel, and fan merchandise, just under different ownership than the original chain.
Q: Is there a cash-back route instead?
A: No listing was found for Modell’s on Fluz or the other cashback partners this site checks.
Q: Why did Modell’s close?
A: The company’s own account cites poor holiday sales and mounting debt, with the bankruptcy filing landing just before COVID-19 further disrupted retail.
Q: Should I expect this to change?
A: Possibly, but not soon. The Modell family’s newer venture has talked about opening physical stores again, with no discount program mentioned yet.
More Information:
This is a different shape of absence than most posts on this site carry. It isn’t that Modell’s chose not to offer a first responder rate, it’s that the company running the brand when such a program might have existed no longer operates any stores at all. If you’re shopping for the same kind of team gear or cleats Modell’s used to carry, checking a still-operating chain in the same category is the more useful move, and that’s where a confirmed program actually applies rather than a defunct one.
For sporting goods with a real, currently verified first responder rate, the Bass Pro post on this site covers a chain still running its own program.