Iowa Cubs unveil Capital City Cubs identity for Saturday games

The Iowa Cubs have turned Saturday baseball into a branded event at Principal Park, unveiling the Capital City Cubs as their alternate identity for every Saturday from June 6 through the rest of the 2026 season, except June 27. It is a change built for the gate as much as the scoreboard, giving the club another way to tie its Triple-A product to Des Moines itself.

The look is rooted in place. Principal Park sits where the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers meet, a setting the club connects to the city’s original settlement. The Capital City Cubs palette uses navy and gold, with navy nodding to the rivers and the city flag and gold echoing the dome of the Iowa State Capitol. Iowa Cubs general manager Randy Wehofer called it “a tribute to the city that has supported our organization for decades,” and said Des Moines is built on connection, something he said the club sees every day at Principal Park.

The rollout came with immediate ballpark features designed to make the new identity feel like a Saturday destination, not just a logo swap. The first 1,000 fans through the gates on June 6 received an exclusive Capital City pennant, while the Two Rivers signature cocktail became available exclusively on Saturdays. The team store and online shop also stocked Capital City merchandise, including a We Are Des Moines jersey, a pinstripe jersey, a DSM hat, a Capitol dome patch, a Des Moines flag patch and a 515 area-code detail.

The Capital City Cubs sit inside a bigger 2026 promotional push that already includes 13 Friday night fireworks dates and specialty nights meant to widen the appeal of a long Triple-A summer. Among them is Backyard Baseball Night on Friday, July 31, along with the 10-year anniversary celebration of the Chicago Cubs’ 2016 World Series title on Saturday, June 27, the one Saturday that will not feature the Capital City Cubs identity. That schedule shows how Iowa is using its promotional calendar to create more than a home stand, building recurring reasons for fans to come back even when the developmental grind of the minors is the backdrop.

For Iowa, the rebrand is less about novelty than repetition. Every Saturday now carries a different look, different merchandise and a different sense of place, with Principal Park and Des Moines at the center of the pitch.