After just one year as Managing Director (MD) of Midlands Hurricanes, Eorl Crabtree, who played over 400 professional Rugby League games, has cemented the club and sport’s future in Birmingham.

Since becoming the club’s MD last year,, Crabtree has tripled commercial income and achieved record season ticket sales whilst also securing a 20-year venue agreement.
On the club’s off-the-field successes, Crabtree, who played 13 times for England, said: "This is about building something lasting for Birmingham. Rugby league has always been seen as a northern sport, but we're proving it can thrive here.”

“The 20-year deal shows we're committed to this city for the long haul. We want Birmingham kids growing up playing rugby league and one day representing their home city professionally."

Before his move to the Midlands Hurricanes, Crabtree spent seven years in commercial roles with Super League team Huddersfield Giants, with whom he spent his entire 17-year playing career before he retired in 2016.

However, his move to the Birmingham club came in 2024 after he completed the ‘90% government-funded Help to Grow: Management Course’ at the Huddersfield Business School, which he credits for ‘giving him the confidence to take on the role and build something lasting for Birmingham’.

On the impact that the Help to Grow: Management Course had on him, 43-year-old Crabtree said: “I'm a rugby lad; I've never considered myself academic, but the course seemed like a great opportunity to help me develop my post-playing career.”

“I suffered from imposter syndrome going into the course, surrounded by CEOs and company owners, but I quickly realised everyone has a different story and that I deserved to be among these business leaders."

Crabtree’s opportunity to join the Hurricanes came when their owner, and former Giants sponsor, Mike Lomas invited him to lead the business side of the Midlands club after his commercial success with Huddersfield.

Since taking over at the club, which was rebranded from Coventry Bears in 2021 but was struggling financially before Crabtree’s arrival, he has ‘overseen a dramatic transformation', including the move from Birmingham's Alexander Stadium to Avery Fields in Bournville.

Alongside securing a 20-year venue agreement at their new stadium, Crabtree has also helped the Hurricanes to triple commercial income through an innovative sponsorship model, achieve record season ticket and shirt sales, and grow its social media following by more than 10% year-on-year.

He has also focused on integrating the club into the city’s sporting community, as the club has established relationships with both Bournville Rugby Union Club and Warwickshire Cricket Club to boost the fan base of the Hurricanes.

On his role at the club, which he joined as MD in January 2025, Crabtree said: "In rugby league, when you make an error, you hold your hands up and move on immediately." I believe in that same approach in business – creating an environment where people can do things their own way, make mistakes, learn, and keep moving forward. The course validated that this style of leadership works."

This season has seen the club launch a wheelchair rugby league team with plans already in place for a foundation to help develop grassroots rugby league in Birmingham and the wider Midlands.

All of these plans and Crabtree’s MD came after the ‘turning point in his career’ in which he enrolled in the Help to Grow: Management Course in 2024.

On the changes that have been made by Crabtree after he completed the course, Flora Hamilton, Executive Director of the Small Business Charter which delivers the Help to Grow: Management Course, said: "Eorl's story shows that leadership skills are transferable with the right support – the resilience, team-building, and strategic thinking he developed on the pitch have translated brilliantly into business leadership."

The Help to Grow: Management Course is a ‘90% government-funded leadership programme for SME businesses’ delivered by a network of Small Business Charter-accredited business schools and runs over 12 weeks.

The course includes ‘online and face-to-face sessions, 10 hours of 1-to-1 mentoring and peer networking’ with a mission to ‘increase economic growth and productivity through improved management and leadership practice’.

On the impact of the course on Crabtree, Hamilton said: "It's fantastic to see what Eorl has achieved since completing the Help to Grow: Management Course at Huddersfield Business School, one of our network of 60+ Small Business Charter accredited business schools delivering the course." The course gave him the frameworks and confidence to back himself, and the results speak for themselves.”

To learn more about the Help to Grow: Management Course, visit: https://smallbusinesscharter.org/help-to-grow-management/course