<Pavilon P na výstavišti dnes poprvé otevřel své brány veřejnosti> <Pavilion P at the exhibition center opened its doors to the public for the first time today.</P>

Brno - The new Pavilion P at the Brno Exhibition Center officially opened its doors to professionals and the public for the first time today. People from the industry could visit the pavilion, which cost 900 million CZK, all day as part of today's inaugurated Car Salon. The first hundreds of interested members of the public then took the opportunity to explore the area and the hall for free after 6:00 PM as part of the ceremonial opening.
    The new hall, measuring 220 x 90 meters, replacing the old P and X buildings, is the largest exhibition hall in Central Europe by its parameters and will expand the exhibition space by an additional 15,000 square meters.
    "The basic idea is based primarily on the demands of exhibitors," David Pokorný, head of communication at Brno Exhibition Center (BVV), told ČTK regarding the reasons for the construction. Major events such as the Car Salon, engineering, or construction fairs have already needed new exhibition space. Pavilion A was built about 80 years ago, C and E 40 to 50 years ago. They now do not comply with modern concepts of exhibition. They do not offer sufficiently large space and have galleries on the upper floor, which companies do not want.
    The new pavilion is located at the back of the exhibition center. It includes three lecture halls. The maximum capacity is 10,000 people, so the hall can be used not only for fairs but also for concerts and other events.
    The investment decision was made by the company’s management before the onset of the economic crisis in the Czech Republic. Due to this investment, loan repayments, and the emerging crisis, BVV management estimated at the beginning of the year that BVV's profit would fall year-on-year to nine million CZK from about 150 million CZK last year. Because of the crisis, BVV also estimates about a twenty percent decrease in this year's turnover compared to the comparable year of 2007, which had 1.7 billion CZK.
    Brno Exhibitions also announced a month ago that based on economic forecasts, they would reduce the number of employees by 15 percent this year, which is about 75 people. BVV plans to save around 20 million CZK on salaries this year as a result. "Financing is secured so that even current fluctuations in revenue do not threaten the operation of the company and the planning of expenses for the following year," Pokorný had previously told ČTK.
    Brno exhibitions dominate about two-thirds of the domestic exhibition market, which was visited by over a million people last year and around 11,000 exhibitors. One-third of the shares are held by the Brno municipality, while the majority stake is held by the German Messe Düsseldorf. The company has over forty events in its calendar annually. Last year, the company reported revenues of 1.8 billion CZK.