Like Grant or not there is something he said that is exactly to the root of how people should decide their vote on this.
Forget whether you think the arena deal is good or not *which it is a good deal. Witchita, Kansas doesn't have a team and just approved a 1% tax increase for a new sports an entertainment venue, and it passed*
Forget whether you are going to use the facility
Forget whether you're a sports fan or not.
Forget about the railyard being toxic and having to be cleaned.
The question is. Do you want a top notch Sports and Entertainment facility in your City. Do you want your city to grow? Do you want the railyards to be revitalized?
Based on those questions and what you answer is how you should vote. If you do not want a top notch entertainment facility in your City then vote no. If you do vote yes, period.
You can try to boil it all down like Grant is trying to do, all you want. But the reality of the situation is that such an approach will do little to influence or change the opinions of fence dwellers and established naysayers which, I'm sure we'll find out when the most recent poll results are released, is necessary for this thing to fly.
There are too many folks that want to know:
1) what's on the table now was the best financial deal possible with the Maloofs and our political leaders negotiated in good faith, and it compares well with most recent arena cost sharing deals by local governments with pro sports franchises,
2) why it's OK for the Maloofs to make money on this deal and why the City/County will make a lot more,
3) there will be no other deals if this one is killed and why that is,
4) the sales tax increase was the best avenue for securing the public funds part of the deal, including why no multi-County regional tax was possible or even sought,
5) the financial, community, and personal benefits from building the arena as well as injecting the many millions into County communities and unincorporated areas,
6) greater clarity (to the extent possible) of what those community projects will be, so it doesn't look like political "pork", and
7) the railyard cleanup status now and when construction begins.
I know there are more issues to prompt opposition to this deal, but IMHO these are probably the biggest ones from reading here and elsewhere and listening to the media outlets.
Each one of these is its own sticking point for certain voters in the County. Therefore, education on these points is called for in order to not only try to convince these fence sitters/opponents to establish/reconsider their positions, but also to help defuse the arguments that naysayers will use to persuade undecided voters.
While there certainly IS plenty immediacy to accepting this deal, Grant's simple approach is somewhat threatening and arrogant to those trying to decide or those that have already crossed the fence but could still jump back. People, in general, want to be reasoned with, rather than pressured.
My fear is that the "political approach" on the support side will be to solely look forward and focus on the deal we have, not what could have been or wasn't. In general, I'd say that this is a decent approach, but it will leave a lot of folks "behind" in being able to convince them that a vote of "yes" on November 7th was well thought out, fair, and good for everyone.