New advertising signs along the outfield wall at Bloch Park will help pay for renovations to the historic ballpark.

The recreation department has already sold about 35 of the signs to local businesses, but hopes to sell many more so that more money can be raised to upgrade Bloch Park.

“All the money raised will be used specifically for Bloch Park and renovations on it or improvements that need to be done,” said interim recreation director Lebo Jones. “It’s a great ballpark. The layout is awesome. It just needs some improvements on the infrastructure inside the park.”

Ronnie “Mac” Sherrer, who first came up with the idea and often volunteers at the park, has spearheaded the project.

The signs are being sold for $350 for the first year and $250 for each year after. The higher cost for the first year is because of the cost of printing the sign.

“We just needed to spruce it up and upgrade it a little bit,” Sherrer said. “That’s the way we came up with the idea.”

Jones said the men’s bathroom and the manager’s office where the umpires gets ready are two of the biggest areas where renovations are needed. The new signage has already helped pay for the center field wall, which was put back up in July in honor of the late Elton Reece, who led the recreation department for two decades.

Jones said he’s hopeful that improvements to the park would one day attract games between major college programs or minor league teams that want to play in a historic city like Selma. He’s hoping that the renovations are the first step in making that long-term goal a reality.

“Hopefully it will draw some more attention and we can host some more tournaments and raise some more revenue for the city,” Jones said.

Bloch Park is already a home field for many local schools, including Concordia College Alabama, Wallace Community College Selma, Ellwood Christian Academy and Selma High. The park also hosts the Dixie Majors State Tournament each year and numerous other all-star tournaments throughout the summer.

Jones and Sherrer said there is still plenty of room available for signs.

They said they could hang signs all the way around the ballpark, if enough businesses are interested in purchasing advertising. Jones said he’s hopeful many others will chip in.

“I think when you say Bloch Park it has a lot of sentimental value to a lot of people,” Jones said.

To purchase a sign or for more information, call the Selma Parks and Recreation Department at 874-2140.