LAWRENCEVILLE — Gwinnett Stadium is no more. The home of the Gwinnett Braves is now Coolray Field.

More than a year later than originally hoped, a naming rights contract for the minor league baseball stadium was announced Wednesday, with Coolray Heating and Cooling the sponsor.

Terms of the 16-year contract were not announced, but G-Braves general manager North Johnson called the deal the “second-largest in minor league baseball.”

That is good news for the team and Gwinnett County.

“This will represent about $4.5 million to the county over the length of the deal,” Gwinnett Convention and Visitor Bureau executive director Preston Williams said. “It falls in pretty closely to the financial model we were working on for the stadium. This is a significant deal and a good one in tough economic times like these.”

Under the stadium lease, the Braves receive the first $350,000 of naming rights revenue each year. The county is to receive up to the next $350,000, with anything above that split.

Money from naming rights was projected to play an important part of paying off the $33 million in bonds on the county-built ballpark, which cost $64 million. The downturn in the economy made finding a sponsor difficult, however. Most companies are scaling back, not making new commitments.

“This is great,” Commission Chairman Charles Banister said of the deal with Coolray. “I didn’t expect this during the economic downturn with things sliding downhill like they have.”

When the Gwinnett Business and Convention Bureau couldn’t find a rights buyer by Sept. 1, negotiations fell to the Atlanta Braves — owner of the Class AAA International League franchise.

“We’re really excited to get this deal done,” Johnson said. “Coolray will be a great partner and this is a great name for a stadium.”

Coolray, with subsidiary Mr. Plumber, is an Atlanta- owned and operated heating, cooling and plumbing service company with offices in Lawrenceville, Marietta and Jonesboro.

“This is kind of a dream come true,” Coolray president Ken Haines said. “It’s special to have your company’s name on a stadium like this. We’ve been doing business in Gwinnett for more than 40 years. This is a way of saying, ‘Thank you.’”

As part of its naming rights agreement, Coolray will receive a sign at the main entrance to the ballpark, an LED marquee on Ga. Highway 20 and signage on top of the scoreboard.

The county was able to cover the lack of naming rights revenue during the stadium’s first season because of higher than anticipated revenue from a 3 percent tax on rental vehicles that was passed to help pay for construction.

“We’re in good shape,” Bannister said. “Financially, it is working out just fine and I’m excited about the future.”

The G-Braves had a successful first season on the field, posting an 81-63 record and making the International League playoffs. Attendance, though, ranked closer to the bottom of the league than the top.

Crowds, large on weekends, dropped off on weekdays. The G-Braves’ season attendance was 423,556 — 12th in the 14-team International League.

The move of the franchise to Gwinnett from Richmond, Va., wasn’t announced until early in 2008 and ground breaking wasn’t held until June of that year. Construction of the ballpark was completed in nine months and the team had limited time for marketing and promotion.

The G-Braves will open their second season on April 8 with a 7:05 p.m. game against Charlotte.

“Our goal is to build on last season,” said Johnson, who took over as general manager recently after Bruce Baldwin retired. “We have a great ballpark and this is a great area. Everyone should be excited about the future.”