CRANBERRY TWP — The grand opening of the new dek hockey rink in Graham Park has been delayed because of scheduling conflicts with the Pittsburgh Penguins, although officials are putting the final touches on the facility this week.

The township supervisors last week approved spending $64,000 for lighting at the facility, which will give township officials more leeway in scheduling additional games and leagues at the rink.

Pete Geis, director of the township’s parks and recreation department, said Tuesday that he’s still soliciting inquiries from residents about how to sign up for leagues at the rink.

He said the township hopes to put more than 300 children on the rink by the end of the year, and added that the addition of the lighting system will enable more people to use the rink after-hours.

“Some other projects came in under budget so the supervisors decided to install lights at the rink,” Geis said. “Those lights will enable us to have three solid seasons of usage at the rink now instead of limiting it to just summer programs.”

Geis urged anyone to contact the parks and recreation department for more information or to sign up for leagues.

The Dek hockey facility is a partnership between the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation and Highmark, who paid for the entire rink except for the lighting system. The new rink will be the first outside of Allegheny County built by the two entities.

Geis said the rink initially was supposed to have a grand opening ceremony on Monday, although that date was pushed back at the request of the Penguins.

A new date for the grand opening hasn’t been scheduled yet, Geis said.

Township manager Jerry Andree said Tuesday that it was an easy decision to spend money on the lighting system at the rink being the lights will enable a more usage.

“It certainly shows the responsiveness of our board of supervisors in understanding what’s important to the community,” Andree said. “It’s part of our public policy to create a great place to raise a family and this is another indication of that commitment.”

Geis added that he’s working on creating an adult league and scheduling open-stick time for any interested local residents.