Lemieux Complex has great 1st year
CRANBERRY TWP — Even though it is the offseason for the Pittsburgh Penguins, hockey never stops at the UPMC Lemiuex Sports Complex.
The complex, which opened one year ago this month, maintains a jam-packed schedule all summer for its two ice rinks.
“They are programmed to the hilt. They could maybe even use a third slab of ice,” township Supervisor Dick Hadley said.
Youths, adults, amateurs and professionals all use the facility for developmental camps, practices, open ice time, athletic training and UPMC sports medicine.
Matt Herr, the complex's executive director and general manager, said that it has been a successful first year with roughly 600,000 people, including athletes, spectators and medical patients, coming to the complex.
Construction on the $70-million facility on Cranberry Springs Drive started in October 2013, and it opened Aug. 17, 2015. It is a two-story, 185,000-square-foot building with two rinks and 1,500 seats.
It has 1,500 square feet of hockey skills training space and a dedicated sports performance space under the guidance of former Penguins player Gary Roberts.
The sports medicine section has 24 exam rooms, MRI and digital X-ray machines and a staff of 20 doctors.
This summer the complex's hockey staff has had camps for youth every day except for the week of July 4. There also have been high school, college and junior developmental camps and tournaments.
On a recent weekday, NHL players Vincent Trocheck, Brandon Saad, John Gibson and Tyler Kennedy practiced at the complex with Ty Hennes, Pittsburgh Penguins skills professional.
The Penguins will hold training camp in late September, and as that gets closer many of the players will return to the complex to train and practice. All practice sessions are free and open to spectators.
Youth hockey continues to grow in the region, and the complex gives many youth teams a place where they can play, train or watch the pros.
The Sidney Crosby's Little Penguins Learn to Play Hockey program gives out ice hockey equipment to about 1,200 children from the area each year, which helps the sport grow.
Seeing the hometown team win the National Hockey League championship this year also will give youth hockey participation a boost, Herr said.“I think with the Stanley Cup victory, we're hoping to see another bounce in youth hockey,” he said.Having access to the same staff and facilities as the professionals benefits the community too.“They can train like the pros do. They get the same medical care that the pros can get, the same chef, and we train them when they are around. It's kind of the philosophy of the facility,” Herr said.He said there has been one notable addition since the opening day.A Mario Lemieux display has been put up, which the staff hopes can be an inspiration for youth. Lemieux, the team's co-owner who won two Stanley Cups as a player, grew up in Montreal, Canada, and played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League as a teenager.“There is a cabinet and tribute to his career and development path, so other youth can see how he went about it. Hopefully they can see that if you get a chance. You should see it through,” he said.Nathan Burt, UPMC's regional director of clinical operations, said the first year for the sports medicine facility also has been a success.“As the complex ramps up, we are very happy with the progress, and have been meeting or exceeding the goals we set,” he said.It is a one-stop-shop for treatment not just for athletes, but for any active adult or child, he said. The only type of treatment that would be done elsewhere would be surgery.Sports medicine also is offered at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex in Pittsburgh, but the Lemiuex Complex now brings treatment closer for residents of Butler County and other areas north of Pittsburgh, he said.The medical facilities aren't just for people who are injured either. The complex does concussion baseline testing, it has a sports nutritionist and the sports performance facility can train athletes in any sport, though there is a focus on hockey.Several community leaders said the complex benefits the community in numerous ways.Hadley said his two grandsons were at the facility last month and got a chance, unexpectedly, to take a picture with the Stanley Cup.
He said, “I've heard nothing but favorable comments from people that have used both the hockey facility and medical facilities. It's nothing but first class amenity that has been added to this community.”Jack Cohen, president of the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau, said the complex has attracted thousands of hockey players who stay in hotels and spend money at businesses here.“It makes our sports facilities much stronger when you have two sheets of ice. It's done really well, and we're excited for the future too,” Cohen said.The next big draw will be a U.S. Hockey League tournament next month, which will attract hockey players and professional scouts from around the country, he said.The USHL Fall Classic East, which will be Sept. 15-18, will be a preseason showcase for some of the best hockey players in the country who are under the age of 20, according to the league's website.Jim Boltz, executive director for the Pittsburgh North Regional Chamber, said the center has created excitement and has helped bring more businesses to the township.“It has had a positive impact. People are very excited about it and a lot of people haven't seen it yet,” he said.The chamber will use the facility as the location of its annual Taste of Cranberry Sept. 26, he said. It will have more than 20 restaurants, and the chamber hopes to attract more than 500 people, some of whom will get to tour the facility for the first time.With the Lemiuex Complex as its centerpiece, hotels, restaurants and shops are planned for the property, called Cranberry Springs.A Marriott Towneplace Suites hotel is under construction and is expected to be open later this year.A 6,500 square-foot Firebirds Wood Fired Grill restaurant also is under construction. Another building with unspecified retail and restaurant tenants has been approved next to the restaurant.The next phase of development there will include more businesses and also a tunnel under Route 228 that will allow pedestrians and motorists to more easily move between Cranberry Woods, which includes Westinghouse Electric and MSA, and Cranberry Springs.
