MiLB’s Copa de la Diversión promo returns for the 2022 season, with eight new teams participating this season and five teams returning with rebranded personas.
The 387-game event series will kick off April 9 in Hillsboro, with the Hillsboro Hops (High-A; Northwest League) taking the field as the Soñadores de Hillsboro.
The eight MiLB teams joining Copa for the first time include the Fort Wayne TinCaps, Frisco RoughRiders, Great Lakes Loons, Quad Cities River Bandits, Somerset Patriots, St. Paul Saints, Syracuse Mets and Wichita Wind Surge. Two teams–the Corpus Christi Hooks and Winston-Salem Dash–return with all-new identities, while the Fresno Grizzlies, Lehigh Valley IronPigs and South Bend Cubs are back with updated looks.
Copa de la Diversión is the centerpiece of MiLB’s “Es Divertido Ser Un Fan” (“It’s Fun to be A Fan”) Hispanic fan engagement initiative, unveiled in the 2018 season.
“It is important to our organization and all of Minor League Baseball that we continue to embrace everyone in and around our communities through the Copa initiative,” said Frisco RoughRiders President Victor Rojas. “We are excited to honor our rich and diverse Latino culture in hopes of creating a deeper connection to our community on a year-round basis.”
According to MiLB, during the first four seasons of the initiative, Copa-designated games had a nearly 20 percent higher average attendance than non-Copa games, and participating teams saw significant increases in merchandise sales, partnerships, and concessions revenues. Extending their reach into local communities, teams partnered with more than 200 local Latino organizations on various events and charitable endeavors.
“The continued growth of the Copa de la Diversión initiative reinforces the importance of connecting with our Latino fans and the Latino community nationwide,” said Kurt Hunzeker, MLB’s Vice President of Minor League Business Operations. “Our teams continue to authentically connect with the Latino population in their communities, leading to a deeper and more meaningful fan experience.”
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