Welcome back to Veldhoven for the Dutch Pinball Open Expo 2024, held by the Nederlandse Flipper Vereniging or the NFV, or the Dutch Pinball Association.
This is their 25th annual Dutch Pinball Open Expo. Not all have been ‘Expos’, as that nomenclature reflects a relatively recent expansion of the format dating back to the 2014 show at De Voorste Venne in Drunen when a large number of free play machines were added alongside the core Dutch Pinball Open tournament, and a number of seminars held in the presentation theatre.
This year we probably have the greatest number of seminar speakers ever at a Dutch Pinball Open Expo. For those who remember the appearance of a single special guest speaker from the US being a memorable event will be overwhelmed by this year’s line-up, where representatives from six different manufacturers are all speaking here in Veldhoven.
We have (in alphabetical order) Barrels of Fun, Dutch Pinball Exclusive, Hexa Pinball, Jersey Jack Pinball, Pinball Brothers and Stern Pinball all represented and giving talks in the Baroniezaal (Baronial Hall).
But before all that though, we said at the very start of this report, “Welcome back”. That’s because this year’s Dutch Pinball Open Expo is being held at the same NH Koningshof Convention Centre as last year.
Traditionally, the Dutch Pinball Open was held in a different part of the country each year to give all members of the NFV the opportunity to attend, if not this year then the next. However, now it has become a much larger event, the logistics of staging a Dutch Pinball Open Expo mean once a suitable venue has been found the temptation is to return the following year unless that becomes impractical.
Almost everyone agreed that the new venue for last year’s Dutch Pinball Open Expo was very successful, so there was strong support to return for this year’s event.
So, here we are back at the NH Convention Centre in Veldhoven on the outskirts of the city of Eindhoven.
In last year’s report we thoroughly described the facilities provided in this huge complex, so we won’t cover that ground again this year. Suffice to say, it provides a large number of hotel rooms alongside numerous meeting rooms and event halls, two of which (Genderzaal and Kempenzaal) are joined together to host the Dutch Pinball Open Expo 2024.
However, this year things have been changed up a little with a third hall added and joined to the previous two to make an even larger single space.
So, what did those rooms look like when we got to the NH Congrescentrum at midday on Friday?
For those who remember last year’s arrangement of machines, things have moved around this year. The end of the hall which was home to the rows and rows of free play machines has been extended and is now home to all the tournaments – Open, Classic, Women’s, Kids. The end which previously had the tournament machines is now the free play zone.
All machines in the hall have a sticker on their base indicating whether they are for use in the tournaments area, if so which tournament, or if they are destined for the free play area.
The the central part of the halls we have the vendor stands and also the dining area. The Dutch Pinball Open Expo is unusual in having the rest and relaxation area mixed in with the games, meaning you don’t need to leave the hall if you want to sit down and eat a meal or drink a beer.
The entrance to the show isn’t from the NH hotel end of the complex which is nearest the main road, but at entirely the opposite end. Guests trying to enter through the hotel have a useful sign directing them to the real DPO Expo entrance.
The Beneluxfoyer is where DPO Expo guests enter the complex and either register for the show or collect their pre-registered entry packs. The registration desk doesn’t open until later this afternoon for tournament players and at 10am on Saturday for everyone else.
Also in the entrance foyer is the payment machine for car parking. If you are not a hotel guest, there is a ticket-issuing entry barrier on the way in and a charge to park in the large number of parking spaces.
Talking to the show organisers, they were keen to mention how helpful the NH hotel had been in working with them to make the DPO Expo a success, with a lot of proactive measures taken to brand the venue. These include the event logo shown on signs all around the building, and even adding coloured lighting to match the DPO Expo logo’s colours of blue, yellow and red.
(We will see about swapping the colours round before the seminars begin on Saturday)
At 6pm the Team Tournament began on a couple of banks of machines just outside the main tournament area.
Over in the main Dutch Pinball Open area, the players were given a briefing about how the format works and what to do if there are any issues.
That’s all from our first look at this 25th anniversary Dutch Pinball Open Expo.
We’ll be back shortly as the first rounds of the main Dutch Pinball Open tournament begin, alongside the Team Tournament which starts at 6pm and (hopefully) concludes later tonight.
Check back here at Pinball News for all the latest updates right across the weekend.
