SELMA — Preliminary work started Thursday on the project to resurface the track at Memorial Stadium.

Workers trimmed grass along the track’s edges in advance of prepping the surface for the upgrade, which will likely be completed in April.

Ten days of rain-free, 68-degree weather are required to finish the project.

“I’m hoping it’s going be done around April 5,” Elton Reece, director of the Selma recreation department, said. “It takes a long time to pressure wash and get all the sand out.”

The upgrade is being done in advance of the AISA state track meet and could help draw in AHSAA competition.

“We hosted state track for 25 years and it got too big and we didn’t have the hotel space and we lost it,” Reece said. “But with new track equipment we’re letting the AHSAA know we’re willing to host it again.”

Reece said the track meet for the lower classifications is currently held at Birmingham Southern College, but could easily be relocated to the Selma area.

“With the resurfaced track and being in the middle of the state, it’s a good opportunity,” Reece said.

Reece said the economic impact could be close to $300,000 and more events, such as track meets by Concordia College are also a possibility.

Additional upgrades that will come in the summer are new lights at both Memorial Stadium and Bloch Park.