The location, in the north of the city near the site of the 1972 Summer Olympics (until 1913 in Milbertshofen), was a bicycle racing track from 1906 to 1914 and then a military depot from 1917 to 1974, initially for the Bavarian Army.
In 1978 BMW exercised an option to buy the remainder of the site to house research operations at a future date, and starting in 1981 the company made the main building, the Alabama-Halle, available for events of the Munich Theatre Festival,[1] which they supported through Spielmotor, an arts-sponsorship partnership with the City of Munich.
Artists that performed at the venue include King Crimson, Dio, Level 42, R.E.M., Big Country, Bon Jovi, Blue Öyster Cult,[4] The Pogues,[5] 10,000 Maniacs,[6] Tina Turner, Dead Kennedys[7] and also performances of Philip Glass' music and theatre including Mauricio Kagel, the Royal Shakespeare Company (performing Edward Bond's Lear[8]), the Teatr Wielki of Warsaw and the Merce Cunningham Dance Company.
[9] BMW closed the buildings in 1988, and the location is now home to their main research facilities and the Gymnasium München Nord.
Several of the buildings were burnt down in 1991 for an emergency response exercise simulating an air crash in an urban area.