 The Grand Central Palace held its last show in late 1953, and due to the delays in building the Coliseum, it was anticipated that New York City would not have a convention space for the following three years.An appeals court gave the city the right to acquire the land for the project in October 1953, and the city obtained the land in November of that year.The Coliseum project, as well as the related development of housing, was approved in December 1953.