Günter Behnisch designed the stadium, with the engineer Frei Otto and assistance from John Argyris. Fritz Leonhardt and Wolf Andrä also worked on the roof, and Jörg Schlaich directed its completion. Construction began on June 9, 1969, the topping-out was July 23, 1970, and the roof was finished on April 21, 1972. The stadium opened on May 26, 1972.
The tent-style roof uses large acrylic glass canopies held by steel cables. It originally covered almost 45,000 seats and now covers fewer than 40,000. The article gives 137 million German marks for the stadium and 170.6 million for the roof. Behnisch called it a democratic sports venue.
Seated capacity is 63,118, with up to 77,337 for concerts. The stadium sits at the heart of Olympiapark München. It hosted the 1972 Summer Olympics, the 1974 World Cup final with 75,200 spectators, and the UEFA Euro 1988 final.
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