For the El Toro Bowl game this weekend, Arizona Western College is expecting a couple thousand people to attend, and with that, organizers say they also expect an economic boost to Yuma's economy.

"We try to bring as many people from the outside. And they fill up our hotels, they eat at our restaurants, they shop, they visit our gas stations, our convenience stores," said El Toro Bowl Chairman Dave McDowell.

McDowell said last year's bowl game brought in anywhere from $500,000 to $1 million in one weekend.

This year, the AWC Matadors are hosting and playing the Nassau Lions from New York, who were affected by Hurricane Sandy. Organizers say this means many Nassau football supporters from the New York area may not be able to come out because they were hard hit.

"We'll use last year as a great example. Yuma, and most of its hotels actually filled up," said Frank Quijada, the general manager of Holiday Inn Express and the president of the Inn Keepers Association. "The majority of my rooms actually filled up with family members, alumni. This year, unfortunately, because of the circumstances that were already mentioned, they had to dial it back," Quijada said.

The Yuma Visitors Bureau said the El Toro Bowl is a good opportunity to attract the visitors to return later to Yuma.

"It's great for the community," said Linda Jordan, executive director of the YVB. "It brings in a lot of tax dollars whenever we have a big group visiting Yuma, and we're thrilled to have them."