In 1983, the last extensions to the Munich exhibition center on the Schwanthalerhöhe were carried out - further enlargement of the Munich Exhibition Center was no longer conceivable for reasons of space. In 1985, the then head of the trade fair, Werner Marzin, wrote a memorandum “On the situation and future prospects of the Munich trade fair center”. In the document, the former head of the exhibition describes "a healthy further development of the Munich exhibition center (...) can only be found with a new location for the large exhibition grounds in Munich." And Marzin already has a new location in mind: "When considering all the possibilities, a part of the area of the Munich-Riem airport that is to be closed appears to be the cheapest solution."

On September 23, 1986, the Bavarian cabinet decided in favor of a trade fair location in Riem, and about a year later - on December 9, 1987, the Munich City Council passed a resolution to seal the new construction of the trade fair grounds on the area around the airport in Riem.