Baum's Sporting Goods Inc., the Arizona team dealer, has defaulted on $2.64 million in loans and faces foreclosure and the public auction sale of two properties in January 2012. Owner Fred Baum told the Arizona Daily Star, however, that the dealer is negotiating with its lenders and expects to be able to refinance its debt to remain open.

Baum told the newspaper that the auctions – which have been
scheduled for 10 a.m. Jan. 19 at the Pima County Courthouse, 110 W. Congress
St. – won't be happening because he had reached an agreement to put a new
investor in and avoid the foreclosure sale.

The company has also reduced its inventory and aligned its expenses with
sales, Baum said. It's also closing a deal to sell a warehouse
to further cut down on expenses. Finally, its Tuscon store will move to a smaller location in the same shopping center.

Baum indicated that declining property values and a decrease
in retail sales led to the company's financial challenges. “We couldn't
break expenses down fast enough to match the fall in sales,” Baum said.

According to public records, four notes are in default. For the warehouse, two
loans totaling $1.67 million are delinquent. The two notes on the Speedway
retail store total about $971,000. The warehouse, built in 1985 on .64 acres,
is currently listed for sale for $450,000 by Picor Commercial Real Estate
Services.

Baum's Sporting Goods also has retail stores at 6446 N. Oracle Road
in Tucson and 927 E. Broadway in Tempe, neither of which were included in the
filings.

Baum started the business in 1984.