CRANBERRY TWP — The new UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex is slated to open Aug. 17 with a weekend of opening activities Aug. 14-16, officials have announced.

Chuck Finder, manager of media relations for UPMC, said there will be more than six events for the public and Penguins season ticket-holders that weekend, but no final plans have been set.

“UPMC and the Penguins are planning a weekend-long celebration to ceremoniously open the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex,” Finder said.

“The details remain a work in progress, but we intend to invite inside the public, the Penguins’ season-ticket holders, employees of both the Penguins and UPMC, plus the very people who helped to complete this amazing project in little more than a year’s time.”

The complex is just east of Interstate 79 and north of Route 228 at 8000 Cranberry Springs Drive. It includes an outpatient medical facility for the UPMC Sports Medicine department, and it will be the primary practice and training facility for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The facility has 185,000 square feet of space of which 54,000 square feet will be for clinical medical care. The clinic will have 24 private patient rooms and include a physical therapy gym that overlooks the Penguins practice rink.

Other amenities include on-site MRI and X-ray imaging, aquatic therapy pools and two full-size hockey rinks with seating for about 1,500 spectators. There are 14 locker rooms and roughly 1,500 square feet of hockey skills training space.

Players of all skill levels will have access to several technological features including a “RapidShot” system, three “RapidHands” training stations and a resistance skating lane made of synthetic ice.

There also will be sports performance training spaces including a sprinting track and batting cages.

A cafe and retail space are inside and outside will have an estimated 400 parking spaces.

Public ice skating will be available.

Those interested in attending the opening weekend events, Finder said, will need to register online. Details of that process will be announced later.

“The week before the complex officially opens, we hope to accommodate a few thousand visitors for the debut of this first-of-its-kind facility where world-class sports medicine and hockey magnificence unite,” Finder added.

In addition to the UPMC facility, a series of restaurants and a hotel are planned around the site.

Although final approval hasn’t been given, plans include four restaurants, a Courtyard by Marriott hotel and a retail building that could house several businesses, said Ron Henshaw, director of community development for the township.

Township manager Jerry Andree said the opening of the facility is a big plus for the community. He said it brings both a professional sports team to the area and jobs.

“Obviously we’ve been working with UPMC for several years,” Andree said. “We’ve developed a great working relationship with them and also the Penguins.”

Andree said the aspect of having a professional sports team in the township is exciting for residents. The 16066 ZIP code for the township has the highest concentration of Penguins season ticket holders in the region, he noted.

“It’s a great addition to the community,” he said. “It will be an increase in vibrancy and vitality. Hockey is a huge sport in our area.”