Actually this is the first smart thing this crossneck wanker has said IMO.
The playing field were going to be for the residential part of the development, which from what I understand is going to take the longest and we won't retain ownership of it after the development. That means that what we get out of it is X amount of money after Y time.
If the council wants to buy it for X amount and buy it earlier, then that is beneficial for the Sharks. I guess the only drawback is that having that many residents nearby may have meant more patronage at the club, but that's pretty spurious probably.
However, there is no way the council will pay $20,000,000 or whatever for that land.