The Selma Welcome Center has been closed for more than half a year, but that is expected to change within a few week’s time, according to Henry Thompson, project manager for the city of Selma.

The new welcome center, which is located at 14 Broad St., will provide Selma’s visitors with information about the city as well as a chance to see memorabilia from the civil rights movement and purchase souvenirs.

“Tourism as a whole is a major piece of Selma’s economy. People visit by the tons,” Thompson said. “The amount of people that cross that bridge per day is heavy, and if we can capitalize on that to give them a little piece of Selma, that is one of the main things we want to do.”

Mayor George Evans said in January that he expected the welcome center to open in February in time to welcome the thousands of people that visited Selma for the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday.

A problem with the air conditioning system caused the city to delay the opening, but Thompson expects the new welcome center to be opened later this month.

“We’re currently getting the finishing touches on the air, which is the major portion of why it hasn’t been opened,” Thompson said.

The project was originally expected to cost around $5,000 to $6,000, but Thompson said the city ended up spending an estimated $10,000 on the upgrades.

“It was an old building that we restored, and when you start restoring a building there are all types of things that go into it,” Thompson said.

The old center offered a variety of souvenirs, but Thompson said the new location will offer a new line of Selma merchandise for people to purchase.

“There will be T-shirts, there will be cups, there will be plates, hats and all types of things for the city,” Thompson said.

The center will also have brochures, maps and more information about Selma.

The new location is also closer to the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge, which attracts visitors on a daily basis.

The original center that was across from the Selma-Dallas County Public Library closed last December when the building’s owners decided to rented it out. The new location was already owned by the city.

Thompson said the city has been depending on others to answer tourists’ questions and provide them with information.

Theresa Hall, who is a park ranger for the National Park Service, said she has been taking on some of the roles of a welcome center over the last several months.

“I think we have taken on some of that responsibility, but personally I am glad to do it because we are all here for the same thing,” Hall said. “We’re here for the trail, but we’re also here for the city and the tourism.”

Hall said the Interpretive Center, which is located at the corner of Water Avenue and Broad Street, sees dozens of visitors a day.

“When the movie came out in January, visitation went through the roof, and it continued to be extremely high through the anniversary and even beyond when people’s spring break were. And I’m still very busy,” Hall said.

“Most of the time we are having between 50 and 100 visitors coming in a day. We’ll have a slow day every now and then, but mostly we’re seeing 50 to 100 or more.”

Hall said she has been giving visitors directions, answering questions and letting them know the best places to visit and grab a bite to eat.

The Selma-Dallas County Centre for Commerce has also seen an influx.

“I feel like we’ve had a lot more people come into the Centre for Commerce, and the library has actually helped out a lot too. They kind of have a mini welcome center in there, and if the visitors have any additional questions, they will send them to us,” said Selma-Dallas County Tourism Director Ashley Mason.

“I think we’re all kind of just trying to help each other out while we’re waiting for the welcome center to open.”