Ideally it would be better if these agreements were on a case-by-case basis. It's not about Marathon or new arena agreements. It's about scaring off a new developer who is considering the city over a suburban or out-of-state location for a new factory, etc. You don't want the company to be scared off by the thought of a years delay just to meet some burdensome local regulations.
On the other hand Marathon should have been required to lay out exactly what efforts were to be made in local hiring, training, etc. when they accepted the tax breaks.