The main site for the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games was a blank canvas yesterday, five years to the day before the opening ceremony.

THE main site for the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games was a blank canvas yesterday, five years to the day before the opening ceremony.

However, the picture is bright, according to the organising committee's chief executive John Scott.

The site opposite Celtic Park at Dalmarnock lies completely clear and ready for work to begin on construction of the National Indoor Sports Arena, the Chris Hoy Velodrome, and the athletes' village. It measures more than 34 acres - bigger than Hampden and its environs including parking, and bigger than the industrial wasteland that was Ravenscraig.

Five years from today, competition will open at the biggest multi-sports event Scotland has ever hosted, involving 6500 athletes and officials from 71 Commonwealth nations.

Mr Scott's organisation is responsible for ensuring smooth delivery and he wants to draw on all of Scotland to make the Games a success. However, as the five-year countdown was being marked, he warned that every day is vital in ensuring success.

"It's important to use these milestones. Everybody needs to understand that you need to have opportunities to celebrate and understand we are making a journey. Yes, it's five years out, but that's still not a lot of time. We need to maintain a sense of urgency.

"Markers like this help show we're making progress along the pre-determined path. That's critical for the confidence we need to have that we'll do these Games well. It's also a reminder that we need 15,000 volunteers to make these Games a success, but also we need the people of Scotland to want to come and watch."

Mr Scott acknowledged the importance of Commonwealth bronze medal-winning cyclist James McCallum's role representing the athletes. "We need him, to keep the focus on sport. We need a new generation of Scottish athletes to come along. We want the people of Scotland to come and watch them, celebrate their success, share in their pain, share in their glory."

Mr Scott also spoke of the meticulous planning required: dietary requirements in catering 300,000 meals, observance of religious requirements, and security and travel arrangements for 200 royalty and heads of state.

He was joined yesterday by others with an interest in the Games, including Scottish Minister for Public Health and Sport Shona Robison, local MSP Frank McAveety, Commonwealth Games Council chairman and former Games wrestler Mike Cavanagh, and Archie Graham, responsible for day-to-day deliver of the Games for Glasgow City Council.

"It's crucially important to engage with Glasgow communities to deliver a lasting legacy," said Councillor Graham. "Not just in ensuring regeneration of the East End is secured, but in sports clubs. There's a lot of investment to be done in club development, and five years is not a long time to develop athletes, clubs and coaches."

Legacy is a buzz word more articulated than understood. There's a belief that simply hosting the likes of the Commonwealth or Olympic Games delivers a legacy of itself. This is not so. Facilities benefits are a given, but even sport-crazy Australia failed to capitalise after Sydney 2000.

So will the Government address that when they publish their Games strategy plan at the beginning of September? Shona Robison, says they will. She believes coaches will be ready in clubs across the country for the anticipated influx of new enthusiasts.

She said: "There's £7.5m going into the elite programme for 2012 and 2014. But, apart from that, every announcement of new resources for governing bodies has stressed these are for coaching. That's about recognition that it's critical we get pathways and coaches in place to make sure children who show interest and potential have somewhere to go.

"I'm confident that community sports hubs will have the necessary facilities. It's been made very clear by sportscotland that governing body plans have to deliver increased participation which coaches are absolutely integral to.

"We want to ensure these Games are a memorable sporting occasion, but we also want the whole of Scotland to benefit... to create a lasting legacy which will leave people from all backgrounds, in every area of Scotland, better off from this experience.

Mr McAveety relishes the creation of "the best sports facilities Scotland has ever seen, in the heart of Glasgow, plus the potential commercial developments. We've needed that kind of regeneration for a long time."

Mr Cavanagh said: "We have the Games in Delhi, next year, first, and that's taking a lot of our time".

The difference between athlete support now, and at the Games he competed in back in 1982 he was beaten in his first bout by the eventual gold medallist, before finishing sixth is immense.

"Now all sports have full-time performance staff. I had nobody to train with for months before going to Brisbane."