Gwinnett Center gets new $18 million name

A Florida company will spend $18 million to put its name on the Gwinnett Center entertainment complex.

The arena, exhibit hall and theater complex will now be known as the Infinite Energy Center. New signs go up in the fall.

The 20-year deal is “very, very solid” for a venue of that size, said E.J. Narcise, principal and co-founder of Team Services LLC, which has helped broker naming rights deals.

“It should be at the top end of a facility of this type,” he said.

The complex has a 13,000-seat arena where the Gwinnett Gladiators hockey team and Georgia Swarm lacrosse team play that will be called the Infinite Energy Arena. It also has a 50,000-square-foot exhibit hall, which will be known as the Infinite Energy Forum, and a 708-seat theater, called the Infinite Energy Theater.

The 90-acre campus was built in 2003.

Lisa Anders, executive director of Explore Gwinnett, said the Gwinnett Convention and Visitors Bureau board voted on the new name Friday morning in a conference call.

The deal does not require board approval, Anders said, and the specially called meeting was merely for the board to endorse the deal. Because less than a third of the bureau’s funding comes from public dollars, it is not subject to open meetings laws, and no notice was given.

Infinite Energy, which provides natural gas or electricity in several states, approached the Gwinnett Center late last year, Gwinnett Convention and Visitors Bureau CEO Preston Williams said in a statement. Jace Brooks, a county commissioner and member of the convention and visitors bureau board, said he does not know if any other offers were made but added that research showed that it was a “good and fair offer.”

The bureau will receive $850,000 a year for the first 10 years of the deal and $950,000 a year for the last 10 years of the agreement. Whether Infinite Energy will receive anything other than its name on the building for its investment is unclear.

Coolray Field, the home of the Gwinnett Braves, netted naming rights of $4.5 million over 16 years. Cobb Energy paid $13 million to put its name on the arts center.

“I think it was a sweetheart deal that just came out of the blue,” said Lynette Howard, a county commissioner and vice chairman of the bureau’s board.

Earlier this year, the board outlined a master plan for the area that would add a long-discussed entertainment district to the complex. The county commission and the Gwinnett Convention and Visitors Bureau also approved construction of a large “headquarters” hotel there in April, a Marriott with 290-300 rooms. Other nearby hotels are in the works.

The eventual plans for the complex include adding seats to the arena, doubling the size of the convention center, building a black-box theater, creating an outdoor lawn and walking trails and adding more access points to help ease traffic.

Brooks said the money would likely go toward some of those improvements, though the board will make a final decision at a later date.

While many groups request bids to get the highest value for their naming rights, the time and energy saved from not having to go through the process is likely a boon, said Jeff Marks, managing director of Premier Partnerships, which specializes in naming rights.

“If they’re getting more than they were getting yesterday, then yes, it’s a good deal,” he said. “You get $18 million to go do things.”