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Photo Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
Houston Dash majority owner Ted Segal is evaluating interest for a possible sale of the team, a club spokesperson confirmed to The Equalizer.
Segal also owns the MLS partner club Houston Dynamo and the two teams’ home venue, Shell Energy Stadium.
Segal only became majority owner of the Dash, Dynamo and Shell Energy Stadium in summer 2021.
NWSL team valuations have soared since. The expansion fee has climbed from about $2 million that year to $110 million for the team in Denver that will join the league in 2026. Franchise valuations have multiplied even more, from Seattle Reign’s $3.5 million sale in late 2019 to the recent $250 million valuation of Angel City FC.
Houston’s ownership group includes other minority investors, including former U.S. men’s national team goalkeeper Tim Howard and NBA star James Harden.
The Dash entered the NWSL as an expansion team in 2014, one year after the league’s launch. Success has eluded the team on and off the field.
Attendance has been a constant struggle for the club. The Dash finished last in the NWSL in average attendance in 2024 with a little over 6,000 fans — just over a quarter of the capacity of Shell Energy Stadium.
Houston has made the playoffs only once, in 2022, when the team lost in the first round of the playoffs. The Dash won the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup, a month-long competition held in Utah after the COVID-19 outbreak canceled the regular season.
Turnover has been a constant for the Dash. Angela Hucles Mangano and Fabrice Gautrat were recently hired as president of women’s soccer and head coach, respectively. Gautrat is the seventh person in charge of the team in three years.
Last year was a low point for the Dash. The team finished last in the 14-team NWSL. Alex Singer was fired as general manager in July. Fran Alonso was hired as head coach ahead of the 2024 season and disappeared from the sidelines in late June with little explanation. Twelve weeks later, and without ever re-appearing, the Dash terminated Alonso’s contract.
