CRANBERRY TWP — The UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex is one more attraction that will draw people to the township, according to township and business officials.

The $70-million project, which has open houses over the weekend, will open for business on Monday.

The complex, which has two rinks and a sports medicine center, will be used by the Pittsburgh Penguins as their practice facility. It also will be a place for youth, high school and adult hockey.

The medical center run by UPMC will bring in many athletes for a variety of treatments and programs.

Township manager Jerry Andree said the complex adds to the attractiveness of the township by providing more opportunities for residents and visitors.

“I am looking forward to seeing the smiles on people’s faces when they enter the facility and enjoy what is being provided,” Andree said.

The complex at 8000 Cranberry Springs Drive also will add to the diversity of the area, Andree said.

“We have been working very hard over the last couple of years to be a very welcoming and inviting community as demonstrated by our welcome signs that have multiple languages,” Andree said.

Ron Henshaw, township director of community development, said the township is proud that UPMC and the Penguins are there.

“This is something that is going to be good for the township way into the future,” Henshaw said. “I think it is something that’s a highlight for us and really puts us on the map in a different way from what we have already been on the map for.”

The developer of the property, Gary Sippel, has done a great job, Henshaw said.

“He has created something completely unique that you will never find duplicated anywhere,” he said. “This actually helps create that feeling, that sense of place, that we always talk about as planners — you know you have arrived somewhere special.”

But the development of the area does not stop with the facility opening, Henshaw said.

Within the next 30 days, a Courtyard by Marriott hotel will begin building, Henshaw said. There will be four new restaurants at the complex, but the names are not known and those buildings are not ready to start construction.

Henshaw said the township was told when the Penguins have events with former players that those activities will be at the Cranberry facility.

“This is a special place that they are going to bring special people to for those kinds of events and celebrations,” Henshaw said.

There have been some concerns about what traffic impacts will be caused by the complex.

Henshaw said everything has been done to accommodate the expected traffic.

Andree said, “We projected all of the future traffic building out. All of the plans are in place to build those facilities as things move on. It is all in the master plan.”

The projected traffic impact is about 2,000 daily trips in and out of the facility near the intersection of Interstate 79, the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and Route 19 and 228, Andree said.

Henshaw said sometime a tunnel will be built under Route 228, but the funding for that has not been found.

“Not only is that (the tunnel) a good thing for the developments surround the area, but it is also part our master traffic planning that keeps things moving in that transportation quadrant,” Henshaw said.

At some point, north bound Interstate 79 traffic will be able to loop without going on Route 228 and get into the Cranberry Woods development, he said.

“There are some great changes that happen with the tunnel and some ramp options that keep traffic off 228 and get them more directly into the destinations,” Henshaw said.

The UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex is expected to boost business in the community.

Jack Cohen, president of Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau, said Penguins officials have said they expect 400,000 people a year.

According to a press release from the tourism bureau, all tournaments at the complex will be outsourced exclusively to the county’s hotels, restaurants, meeting spaces and other businesses.

There already are plans for a few tournaments, according to the Penguins Rinks website.

The weekend of Sept. 5 and 6 there will be the MidAm USA Hockey Mite Kick-off Jamboree.

The weekend of Nov. 27 to 29, the complex will have the Pittsburgh Girl’s Thanksgiving Classic. In that 2014 event, 45 of the 66 teams were from out of the area, which included teams from Canada, New Jersey, Michigan, New York and Wisconsin, the website states.

Then from Dec. 27 to 30, the complex is hosting GRIT, which stands for Game Ready Intensive Tournament.

Sometime in the winter of 2016 there will be the Penguins Adult Hockey Classic.

The complex also will be home to the Pittsburgh Penguins Elite, which is Western Pennsylvania’s premier AAA amateur hockey organization, the website stated. The program is the only program in the region that offers teams for boys and girls in all age groups.

Tom McMillan, vice president of communications for the Pittsburgh Penguins, said the complex is also going to bid to host a team for the NHL World Cup next year.

And complex officials are looking to be considered a site for the NHL Draft combine. McMillan said the complex is perfect for that because medical equipment is needed for combine exercises and competitions, and the complex already has the medical supplies on site.

Cohen said the facility will give the hotel industry, restaurants and shops a financial boost.

“We are very fortunate that they have worked with us since they came on the ground to develop a system to book the hotels and bring all of that new business into Butler County,” Cohen said.

He said there is a long-term impact because by getting children to learn hockey, the complex is building its clientele.

“They’ll be like Pirates fans. They will be Penguins fans for years to come,” he said.

Jim Boltz, executive director of the Pittsburgh North Regional Chamber, said the complex’s plan is to make Cranberry a hub for hockey in the United States.

He said it will make Cranberry stand out in the sports world.

“I am just proud of the fact that they chose Cranberry and am excited on how it is going to help the businesses in the area in so many different ways,” Boltz said.