Thirty years of PUMP, twenty-five of PSL, and one night that felt like 1999.
Event Production, Creative Direction & Communications
Event Production
Marketing & PR
Content Creation
PUMP 30 / PSL 25
Thirty years of PUMP, twenty-five of PSL, and one night that felt like 1999.
Charlotte's Webb produced the joint anniversary celebration for PUMP's 30th year and the Pittsburgh Sports League's 25th at Spirit Hall in Lawrenceville. We handled the full build: concept, communications rollout, champion toolkit, custom anniversary trading cards, a walkable PUMP history timeline, retro arcade and neon décor, lighting design, and a tightly run program. The goal was a room that felt like a reunion and a block party at the same time.
PUMP 30 / PSL 25
Overview
Two milestones, one room. PUMP has spent thirty years connecting young professionals to Pittsburgh, and its Pittsburgh Sports League has spent twenty-five of them putting people on the same field. The celebration had to honor both histories without turning into a banquet, so we built it as a night people could walk through, play in, and take home.
PUMP brought the community, the history, and a committee of civic and business leaders. Charlotte's Webb brought the world around it: a late-90s look and feel, a communications plan that built momentum for weeks, and an event design where every corner gave guests something to do, not just somewhere to stand.
PUMP 30 / PSL 25
The Challenge
Anniversary events tend to look backward and feel formal. This one had to celebrate three decades of members across very different eras, and make a first-year PSL player and a founding member feel equally at home in the same space.
It also had to come together fast, with a committee spread across several organizations, a venue with its own load-in rules, and a list of vendors who all had to hit their marks on one evening.
PUMP 30 / PSL 25
The Solution
We started with the story. A save-the-date rotation led into a formal announcement, a recurring flyer push, and a daily drumbeat the final week. We built a champion toolkit so PUMP's own network could carry the message in their own voices, and produced the content while PUMP's team posted it on their channels.
Event Production, Communications Strategy, Trading Card Design, Environmental Design
Inside Spirit, the room did the talking. Arcade cabinets, neon, and era-specific props set the tone. A PUMP History Walk of timeline boards let guests find their own year on the wall. A custom trading card station turned each guest's PSL or PUMP milestone into a card they could keep. Lighting moved through five looks over the night, a short speaking program from PUMP leadership, Variety, and the Mayor's office kept things moving, and Hoagie Dreams carried it into the 1999 closing party.
PUMP 30 / PSL 25
PUMP 30 / PSL 25
Performance Results
The celebration gave PUMP and PSL a night that matched the size of their history, plus a library of photos, video, and trading card content their team can keep rolling out alongside future activations.
Years of PUMP
Three decades of young professionals in Pittsburgh
Years of PSL
A quarter century of the Pittsburgh Sports League
Trading Cards Printed
Custom anniversary cards made on site for guests to keep
One of the biggest moments of the night came from the Mayor's office, when Chief of Staff Dan Gilman took the stage and presented a proclamation recognizing PUMP's 30 years and PSL's 25. The event also set a repeatable model for PUMP: lead with community, build the room as an experience, and treat the night as the start of a content run instead of the end of a planning cycle.
PUMP 30 / PSL 25
Final thoughts
PUMP has always been about giving people a reason to stay in Pittsburgh and a team to stay with. Building this night with them was a reminder of why that works. When a community can see its own history on the wall, it shows up for the next chapter.
PUMP 30 / PSL 25
Credits
Josiah Gilliam
Ellen Romagni
Tom Baker
Jack Dougherty
Executive Director, PUMP
Board Chair, PUMP
CEO, Variety the Children's Charity
Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership
Previous Project
Thirty years of PUMP, twenty-five of PSL, and one night that felt like 1999.
Event Production, Creative Direction & Communications
Event Production
Marketing & PR
Content Creation
PUMP 30 / PSL 25
Thirty years of PUMP, twenty-five of PSL, and one night that felt like 1999.
Charlotte's Webb produced the joint anniversary celebration for PUMP's 30th year and the Pittsburgh Sports League's 25th at Spirit Hall in Lawrenceville. We handled the full build: concept, communications rollout, champion toolkit, custom anniversary trading cards, a walkable PUMP history timeline, retro arcade and neon décor, lighting design, and a tightly run program. The goal was a room that felt like a reunion and a block party at the same time.
PUMP 30 / PSL 25
Overview
Two milestones, one room. PUMP has spent thirty years connecting young professionals to Pittsburgh, and its Pittsburgh Sports League has spent twenty-five of them putting people on the same field. The celebration had to honor both histories without turning into a banquet, so we built it as a night people could walk through, play in, and take home.
PUMP brought the community, the history, and a committee of civic and business leaders. Charlotte's Webb brought the world around it: a late-90s look and feel, a communications plan that built momentum for weeks, and an event design where every corner gave guests something to do, not just somewhere to stand.
PUMP 30 / PSL 25
The Challenge
Anniversary events tend to look backward and feel formal. This one had to celebrate three decades of members across very different eras, and make a first-year PSL player and a founding member feel equally at home in the same space.
It also had to come together fast, with a committee spread across several organizations, a venue with its own load-in rules, and a list of vendors who all had to hit their marks on one evening.
PUMP 30 / PSL 25
The Solution
We started with the story. A save-the-date rotation led into a formal announcement, a recurring flyer push, and a daily drumbeat the final week. We built a champion toolkit so PUMP's own network could carry the message in their own voices, and produced the content while PUMP's team posted it on their channels.
Event Production, Communications Strategy, Trading Card Design, Environmental Design
Inside Spirit, the room did the talking. Arcade cabinets, neon, and era-specific props set the tone. A PUMP History Walk of timeline boards let guests find their own year on the wall. A custom trading card station turned each guest's PSL or PUMP milestone into a card they could keep. Lighting moved through five looks over the night, a short speaking program from PUMP leadership, Variety, and the Mayor's office kept things moving, and Hoagie Dreams carried it into the 1999 closing party.
PUMP 30 / PSL 25
PUMP 30 / PSL 25
Performance Results
The celebration gave PUMP and PSL a night that matched the size of their history, plus a library of photos, video, and trading card content their team can keep rolling out alongside future activations.
Years of PUMP
Three decades of young professionals in Pittsburgh
Years of PSL
A quarter century of the Pittsburgh Sports League
Trading Cards Printed
Custom anniversary cards made on site for guests to keep
One of the biggest moments of the night came from the Mayor's office, when Chief of Staff Dan Gilman took the stage and presented a proclamation recognizing PUMP's 30 years and PSL's 25. The event also set a repeatable model for PUMP: lead with community, build the room as an experience, and treat the night as the start of a content run instead of the end of a planning cycle.
PUMP 30 / PSL 25
Final thoughts
PUMP has always been about giving people a reason to stay in Pittsburgh and a team to stay with. Building this night with them was a reminder of why that works. When a community can see its own history on the wall, it shows up for the next chapter.
PUMP 30 / PSL 25
Josiah Gilliam
Ellen Romagni
Tom Baker
Jack Dougherty
Executive Director, PUMP
Board Chair, PUMP
CEO, Variety the Children's Charity
Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership
Previous Project
Thirty years of PUMP, twenty-five of PSL, and one night that felt like 1999.
Event Production, Creative Direction & Communications
Event Production
Marketing & PR
Content Creation
PUMP 30 / PSL 25
Thirty years of PUMP, twenty-five of PSL, and one night that felt like 1999.
Charlotte's Webb produced the joint anniversary celebration for PUMP's 30th year and the Pittsburgh Sports League's 25th at Spirit Hall in Lawrenceville. We handled the full build: concept, communications rollout, champion toolkit, custom anniversary trading cards, a walkable PUMP history timeline, retro arcade and neon décor, lighting design, and a tightly run program. The goal was a room that felt like a reunion and a block party at the same time.
PUMP 30 / PSL 25
Overview
Two milestones, one room. PUMP has spent thirty years connecting young professionals to Pittsburgh, and its Pittsburgh Sports League has spent twenty-five of them putting people on the same field. The celebration had to honor both histories without turning into a banquet, so we built it as a night people could walk through, play in, and take home.
PUMP brought the community, the history, and a committee of civic and business leaders. Charlotte's Webb brought the world around it: a late-90s look and feel, a communications plan that built momentum for weeks, and an event design where every corner gave guests something to do, not just somewhere to stand.
PUMP 30 / PSL 25
The Challenge
Anniversary events tend to look backward and feel formal. This one had to celebrate three decades of members across very different eras, and make a first-year PSL player and a founding member feel equally at home in the same space.
It also had to come together fast, with a committee spread across several organizations, a venue with its own load-in rules, and a list of vendors who all had to hit their marks on one evening.
PUMP 30 / PSL 25
The Solution
We started with the story. A save-the-date rotation led into a formal announcement, a recurring flyer push, and a daily drumbeat the final week. We built a champion toolkit so PUMP's own network could carry the message in their own voices, and produced the content while PUMP's team posted it on their channels.
Event Production, Communications Strategy, Trading Card Design, Environmental Design
Inside Spirit, the room did the talking. Arcade cabinets, neon, and era-specific props set the tone. A PUMP History Walk of timeline boards let guests find their own year on the wall. A custom trading card station turned each guest's PSL or PUMP milestone into a card they could keep. Lighting moved through five looks over the night, a short speaking program from PUMP leadership, Variety, and the Mayor's office kept things moving, and Hoagie Dreams carried it into the 1999 closing party.
PUMP 30 / PSL 25
PUMP 30 / PSL 25
Performance Results
The celebration gave PUMP and PSL a night that matched the size of their history, plus a library of photos, video, and trading card content their team can keep rolling out alongside future activations.
Years of PUMP
Three decades of young professionals in Pittsburgh
Years of PSL
A quarter century of the Pittsburgh Sports League
Trading Cards Printed
Custom anniversary cards made on site for guests to keep
One of the biggest moments of the night came from the Mayor's office, when Chief of Staff Dan Gilman took the stage and presented a proclamation recognizing PUMP's 30 years and PSL's 25. The event also set a repeatable model for PUMP: lead with community, build the room as an experience, and treat the night as the start of a content run instead of the end of a planning cycle.
PUMP 30 / PSL 25
Final thoughts
PUMP has always been about giving people a reason to stay in Pittsburgh and a team to stay with. Building this night with them was a reminder of why that works. When a community can see its own history on the wall, it shows up for the next chapter.
PUMP 30 / PSL 25
Josiah Gilliam
Ellen Romagni
Tom Baker
Jack Dougherty
Executive Director, PUMP
Board Chair, PUMP
CEO, Variety the Children's Charity
Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership
Previous Project
We build worlds. Yours is next.
Bring us your world. Pitch us a long shot. Or just say hello. We read everything.
A few of the worlds we have built.
We build worlds. Yours is next.
Bring us your world. Pitch us a long shot. Or just say hello. We read everything.
A few of the worlds we have built.
We build worlds. Yours is next.
Bring us your world. Pitch us a long shot. Or just say hello. We read everything.
A few of the worlds we have built.