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The fight over who runs Kelowna's biggest arena just got uglier — and it's the transparency fight this election needed.

GSL Group, the company that has managed Prospera Place since it opened in 1999, is publicly demanding the City of Kelowna open the books on how it picked a new operator.

The City selected Oak View Group Canada, a Canadian arm of an American-owned arena giant, as the top-ranked bidder to run Prospera Place and MNP Place starting in 2029.

No final contract has been signed — but GSL president and CEO Graham Lee says taxpayers deserve to see the competing bids and how the decision was made.

"If Oakview Group's offer is truly advantageous for the city, GSL would support it," Lee said — a line that puts the burden of proof squarely on City Hall.

GSL went first: the company publicly disclosed its own bid, which proposed a management fee of just $75,000 a year while returning 97% of the arena's profits to the facility.

That disclosure is the crux of it.

One bidder showed its cards. The other didn't. And neither did the City.

The City confirmed Oakview was the top-ranked choice but said it won't release high-level details about contract value or services until the process wraps up.

It also confirmed what will bother voters most: the decision was made in-camera — discussed and decided behind closed doors, away from the public record.

Incumbent councillor and mayoral candidate Ron Cannan, who sat on the council that approved the choice, says he can't comment on the specific decision but now wants procurement policies reviewed.

Convenient timing, with the municipal election 15 days away — and voters should notice.

The backdrop matters: governments across Canada have been pushing to prioritize Canadian companies in public procurement.

Kelowna just picked the American-owned option over a Canadian operator that has run the building for nearly three decades — and did it in private.

This doesn't mean the decision was wrong.

A better-connected operator could bring bigger concerts and more events downtown.

It means the math should be public before the contract is inked, not after.

Before October 17, every mayoral and council candidate should be asked one question: do you support disclosing the bids — yes or no?

Voters can't judge a deal they're not allowed to see.