Lemieux Complex ready for close-up
CRANBERRY TWP — Area hockey is entering a whole new world, courtesy of the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.
The Pittsburgh Penguins' new practice facility in Cranberry Township is geared toward expanding hockey horizons for all teams in the region at all levels, not just the National Hockey League club.
“The Penguins will skate here 60 percent of the time, will practice here all of the time ... But this place is about so much more than that,” said Dr. Vondra Wright, medical director of the complex.
From a hockey perspective, the complex has two rinks.
The Penguins' practice rink has 896 seats while the Community Rink has 437 seats.
Both rinks will be available for public use when the Penguins are not there.
And both rinks will be used — often.
“We're looking at seven days a week, being open from 6 a.m. to midnight,” Matt Herr, executive director and general manager of the complex, said. “Those hours can expand if a team or organization wants to get in here at odder hours.
“But we're not just about opening our doors and giving teams a place to skate. We're about educating area players and coaches alike, about helping kids and adults learn the game and train the right way.”
The rinks are already being used by 30 adult teams. Slippery Rock University's club hockey team will play its home games there.
The Pittsburgh Penguins Elite youth hockey program involves 600 kids on 22 teams. That program will call the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex home as well.
“We want as many people as possible to be able to make use of this facility,” Herr said.
The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League (PIHL) has 61 teams.
New PIHL commissioner Jim Black hopes to bring the league's all-star games to the complex.“It's something we've been in conversation with them about,” Black said. “The (USHL) Youngstown Phantoms may be playing some exhibition games there in September.“We plan our all-star games a year ahead, so there's time to get something done there.”Herr said plans for a PIHL “rivalry night” at the complex are in the working stages.“We'd love to make that happen, have Seneca Valley play North Allegheny here, for instance, along with other league rivalry matchups,” he said. “We're talking about putting on hockey showcases involving the PIHL. That's definitely a league we'll be working with.”Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic does not have a hockey team. The former North Catholic High School did and Black played there.“Now that this facility is next door, I can see North Catholic starting a program back up with the idea of playing there,” Black said.No local high school hockey team will play its home games there, though Seneca Valley coach Anthony Raco plans to inquire about some practice time at the facility.“If we can get some time in there, we will,” Raco said. “We've got five teams in our program — one varsity, two junior varsity, two middle school — and finding ice to practice on can be tough.“That complex is a welcome addition to the area. It will do wonders for hockey.”It will help other sports as well.Batting cages and pitching areas are in the complex, as are weight room and training areas.“There are thousands of youth football players, Little League teams — we can help train those people as well,” Dr. Wright said.
The development of hockey players is what excites Herr.“The sport has been losing kids at a young age,” he said. “Over the past six years, 60 percent of youth hockey players leave the sport by age 12.“By starting them here, training and working with them here, we're looking for more longevity. We've got an in-house mite league (for ages 4-6, ages 7-8) that already has 60 kids signed up.“We're not just here for the Penguins Elite youth program. We're here for all kids who want to play hockey,” he added.Herr emphasized that as hockey continues to grow in the area, “the Penguins ultimately win and so does the entire hockey community.”Public skating, birthday parties and corporate events will also be made available.There are 20 miles of cooling tubing under the rinks and 14 locker rooms at the complex.The building is designed to add more rinks in the future.“Our doors are only opening now, so that would be down the road a ways,” Herr said of additional rinks. “But, yeah, that probability exists.”
