Ultimately I'm very sceptical about the process, having worked in planning. The most vocal people are those that object. So you show them as little as possible to keep them quiet. Those that will actually use the space/place or buy the houses don't attend the events or comment generally. If you have to change a design to get planning then that's what you have to do. The stack takes a hit and you try to recover that some other way.
Regardless of that, City have probably just not got everything together yet. Looking at timings, they need to get a move on with that planning application. So they're probably finalising everything for that process more than looking to hide the detail from us. As has been said, these guys know how to build projects with a wow factor, and they'll be looking for the building and public realm to be state of the art in order to create a year round venue that gets people to the area spending their money. I don't think we need to worry about the design from that perspective.
As per your other post, I agree that the stadium bowl aesthetic isn't really "lost" by these proposals. You'll get that context from the other angles of the ground where it's more important and as I've said before, you need to feel you're at a purpose built leisure/retail space and not just hanging around a football ground which is why I think this design works quite well. I await the DAS and supporting design images/options to see what else they explored and those other views. I'm sure they'll have done a visual impact to show the before and after and then we can make an informed comment.
I always go to the DAS first. Most of everything you need to know is always in there. The Verified Views are always interesting, showing how the proposal will impact on the surrounding area. There were quite a few Verified Views of the South stand expansion in the planning application from what I remember .