HOUSTON – It didn’t take long for new Houston Dynamo Football Club owner Ted Segal to put his stamp on the team.
In the introductory press conference unveiling him as the majority owner of Dynamo and the Houston Dash, Segal used his opening remarks to break three major actions taken by the club.
The first two moves revealed a strong commitment to the team’s backline.
The club resigned 28-year-old centerback Tim Parker to a three-year contract. And filled a Designated Player spot by signing 25-year-old left-footed centerback Teenage Hadebe from Turkish Super League club Yeni Malatyaspor.
Hadebe will be one of two centerbacks in Major League Soccer with the Designated Player tag. The original plan, however, wasn’t to sign him as a Designated Player.
Dynamo head coach Tab Ramos said Hadebe’s exceptional performance to finish the Turkish League season — where he was named to the Best XI three out of the last five weeks — brought other suitors and a higher price tag.
Matt Jordan, the club’s vice president and general manager, said there were a couple of other cheaper options, “but right away Ted and our ownership group said, ‘No, guys, look, we understand the process. Let’s go for this.'”
Segal’s commitment to improving the roster was evident with Hadebee’s signing and the third action he announced looks to bolster the club’s business side.
Segal announced Jamey Rootes as CEO of Dynamo and Dash. Rootes, previously an executive in business operations with the Houston Texans, isn’t a newcomer to the MLS. Before his 20-year stint with the Texans, Rootes was the general manager of the Columbus Crew.
But wait, there’s more.
Segal also announced a $100,000 contribution to Dynamo charities, a $100,000 contribution to the Houston Food Bank, and a $100,000 contribution to support Houston’s bid to be a 2026 World Cup host city.
Additionally, Segal pledged $125,000 to the grassroots soccer program Free Kick Soccer in partnership with the Greater Houston Boys & Girls Clubs and Girls Introduction to Soccer.
“These programs will help grow the game in Houston and provide underserved youth throughout our community with more access to the sport,” Segal said.
If the previous majority owner was laissez-faire with the club, in one press conference Segal showed what kind of owner he aims to be. The number of announcements from Segal even surprised MLS commissioner Don Garber.
“I’ve been in a lot of press conferences and not too many people announce what they are doing on day one with charitable contribution, player signings, key employee signings, how that’s going to work with the existing employee base,” Garber said. “This is something that I think is going to be enormously important for what we are trying to do to grow the sport in this country and this part of the country.”
Segal, who’s a lifelong fan of the game, plans to be in attendance when the Dynamo takes on the Portland Timbers, his first game as a club owner.
Soccer and family
Segal’s love for soccer started with one kick. His first kick on a soccer ball to be exact. The 40-year-old recalled playing in youth games and being enamored with the sport almost immediately.
If that first kick was the butterflies in Segal’s stomach, the 1994 World Cup became the engagement ring.
“The 94 World Cup is something that really really stands out as somebody who grew up in New Jersey and New Jersey with deep soccer history,” Segal said. “And on that team, I can rattle off the players. Coach Ramos, first and foremost. In addition, Tony Meola, John Harkes, and our adopted son Alexi Lalas, who played at Rutgers. It was a very proud moment back in ’94.”
The love for the game runs in the Segal family. His two daughters participate in youth soccer programs and the family has attended numerous women’s national team games.
“No. 1 part of what drew me to this opportunity was that there is an NWSL team here. As I mentioned in my opening remarks, I’m the father of two young daughters and we are deeply enthusiastic about the sport,” Segal said.
“With respect to equal treatment, my intention through my three main pillars is to live up through both of those on the MLS and NWSL side and that’s providing adequate resources and enhancing the fan experience and that goes across both clubs and fostering ties to the community, and I think if you can execute on those goals, both clubs are in a position to succeed.”
While Segal is a proud New Jerseyan, the new owner was born in St. Louis to parents who immigrated from the Soviet Union in 1978 with $100 and his then three-year-old brother. Segal was born soon after and the family moved once again, this time settling in New Jersey. In 1990, Segal’s father, Mike, started a business, LS Power, in the energy sector.
“With education, hard work, and good luck, they achieved extraordinary success and laid the foundation for me and my brother to bid on the business they created,” Segal said.
“They epitomize the American dream and their achievements allowed me to humbly join you here today on behalf of our family, an unmanageable position only a generation ago.”
In one press conference, Segal gave the Dynamo and Dash fanbase, and the Houston soccer community at large, hope. And sure, it may have only been one press conference, but you only get one chance to make a first impression.
Jesus Acevedo Jr. is the Editor-in-Chief of The Bayoucitian. He’s an award-winning bilingual journalist from Houston, TX. A graduate of the University of Houston, he has written for the Houston Chronicle, La Voz de Houston, MLSsoccer.com, and ProSoccerUSA.
Before becoming a journalist, Jesus spent his early 20s drumming his way across Houston with two bands — Shortcomings and InsertNameHere. The memories that Jesus made as a musician were the seeds that started the idea for the comedy, Houmans: The Series.
[…] HOUSTON – It was a tale of two halves for the Houston Dynamo Football Club in their midweek 2-2 draw against the Portland Timbers. It was the club’s first home game since May 22nd and the first in front of the new majority owner, Ted Segal. […]
[…] Enter new Houston Dynamo FC and Houston Dash owner Ted Segal. […]