Sir Steve's 2012 fears

"I'd like to believe in what they are saying," he said, "That they want to get the groundwork right and what is done afterwards can be relatively cheap.

"The best example is the Commonwealth Games Stadium in Manchester, which was always going to be the home of Manchester City."

Five-times gold medal winner Redgrave has just completed a five-year campaign raising £5.8 million for children's charities through a series of celebrity golf days.

The figure, which also included a record £1.3m from his participation in the London Marathon, topped £5.8m in the final event at La Manga, Spain, last week.