FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) - A Hopi village is developing a $92.5 million retail, lodging and commerce center that tribal officials hope will help capture millions of tourist dollars.

Named the ”Gateway to Hopiland,” the project in the Upper Village of Moenkopi will include a 100-room hotel and conference center, fast-food restaurants, a grocery store, art gallery and a building that could serve as a university branch on 72 acres across the highway from Tuba City, which is on the Navajo Nation.

Notably absent is a casino - the Hopi have consistently rejected gaming enterprises on their reservation.

A $6 million travel center with a car wash, gas station, convenience store and tax-free tobacco is already being built. More than 1 million drivers a year pass by the area, which is on U.S. 160 about 50 miles north of Flagstaff.

”This helps us at the village level, creates jobs, and it also provides opportunity for individuals to become entrepreneurs,” said Dan Honahni, president and CEO of Moenkopi Developers Corp. Inc.

Indian Country