MARYSVILLE — Summer break isn’t the reason the M-P track and field won’t be hosting any sport events.

Ground has already been broken on a multi-million dollar project to renovate the facility to make way for the Quil Ceda Stadium.

“(Construction workers) entered the premises on April 20,” said Marysville Athletic Director Greg Erickson. “Since then they’ve been prepping for erosion, digging trenches and sealing up pipes, but they’re starting to wheel out the big stuff right now.”

The Marysville School District got the okay to remodel the athletic grounds in March and accepted the bid from Faber Construction April 6.

Summer time is the least busy for the site, although it is usually not removed from activity just because school isn’t in session. Tournaments are still being played. In fact, coming across a time when the Marysville-Pilchuck track and field is without kids on it is rare, which is one of the reasons it is so desperately in need of an upgrade.

“After this summer, our field will be in as good a shape at the beginning of the school year as at the end,” Erickson said.

The bulk of the $2 million project will be spent installing an all-weather synthetic turf for soccer and football. The rest of the project will be reorganizing the space for track meets and installing new visitor bleachers. No work is scheduled for the home seating area.

Erickson said he sees this project, which has a target date for its completion on Aug. 20, as an investment for the school district.

“It’s actually a cost-effective measure,” he said. “With all of the budget cuts going on, this frees people up in maintenance and on the grounds. We don’t have to pay to re-chalk and mow the fields anymore. And, with having Getchell, it’s something we could really use with having multiple high schools in a district.”

And the track will also be resurfaced, giving the school more options for its track and field program.

“The track was so worn that we couldn’t hold large meets,” Erickson said. “We were limiting what we could do when it came to hosting events.”

There are also home field advantage concerns that are sure to help the Tomahawks in the future. The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association insists that any state football or soccer competition must be played on a turf surface. In the past, the Tommies have had to move what would otherwise be a home game to either Everett Memorial or, as in the case of the first round Class 4A state football tournament game against Graham-Kapowsin, Snohomish.

“We haven’t been able to host any state games in the past and that is something that will change for us,” Erickson said.