Houston Dash owner Ted Segal is exploring options for potentially selling the team, according to multiple media reports on Friday.
Segal hired investment bank PJT Partners to evaluate whether the team could add new investors, perform a controlled sale or keep ownership as is, according to a Sportico report.
Segal expects the investment process to last several months but said it will not interfere with the club’s soccer-related operations, per Sportico.
“Given this backdrop and the unprecedented level of interest in the NWSL from high-quality investors, I believe now is the right time to explore whether there are additional resources that we can attract to help the Dash succeed well into the future,” Segal wrote in a note obtained by Sportico on Friday.
The Dash are valued by Sportico at $74 million, 10th out of 14 teams in the National Women’s Soccer League. The team charted roughly $7.6 million in revenue in 2024.
Segal has been majority owner of the Dash since paying about $400 million for a majority stake in June 2021. Included in that investment were Houston’s Major League Soccer Club, the Dynamo, and the stadium the Dash and Dynamo share.
Other investors include former U.S. men’s national team goalie Tim Howard and current NBA star James Harden, who played nine seasons with the Houston Rockets.
The value of National Women’s Soccer League teams has grown rapidly in recent years.
Sportico reported in September 2024 that the average NWSL club was worth $104 million, a 57 percent increase from 2023. Angel City FC was tabbed the league’s most valuable franchise after being purchased for $250 million in July 2024.
Expansion fees have also skyrocketed. Angel City and the San Diego Wave each paid about $2 million to join the league in 2022, while Denver will pay $110 million to become the league’s 16th team in 2026.
“The NWSL has grown exponentially over our ownership tenure, and nothing makes us prouder than knowing that this club is playing a part in that growth,” Segal wrote in his note.
The Dash have struggled to succeed in the NWSL since joining the league in 2014.
They have made the playoffs just once and finished last in the 2024 standings. The team also had the league’s lowest average attendance last season, averaging just over 6,000 fans, about one-fourth of the capacity of Shell Energy Stadium.
–Field Level Media
