Are You Ready? Location of NGT48 Theater Announced! The Stage Will Be Set In Bandai, Niigata-City!

| 48 / 46 Group | Posted by Satsuki on May.25.2015

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It has been announced that the NGT48 Theater will be located in the commercial building, “Lovela 2” in Bandai, Niigata city. The press conference was held on May 24th, 2015 (Sun) in Niigata by the general manager of NGT48 Etsuro Imamura, NGT48 captain Rie Kitahara, and draft members Marina Nishigata and Yuka Ogino.

Within the last two weeks the process of starting NGT48 has been slowly coming together as “The 2nd AKB48 Group Draft Kaigi” was held on May 10th with two members being appointed and on May 18th the application period for the first group of auditions came to an end. And now, the stage for NGT48 is now finalized and presented to the public with this big news.

The press conference was held at Niigata Nippou Media Ship, which is one of the symbolic facilities in Niigata. Since it was open to the public, about 1,100 people gathered to watch the press conference live. General Manager Imamura, captain Rie Kitahara, and appointed draft members: Marina Nishigata (1st place) and Yuka Ogino (2nd place) were in Niigata for their first official visit. The two new members were a bit nervous but, optimistic to see everyone.

As Imamura gave the signal, the presentation began, showing that the NGT48 Theater will be located in Lovela 2, causing the audience to burst into loud applause.

General Manager Imamura explained why he decided on “Lovela 2”, “I have decided on this place because, the access from Niigata station is just a 15 minute walk away and people from different generations gather in the city of Bandai. I hope many people can visit.” The members seemed to be happy that they could present this news in person. Imamura also announced that the number of audition applications for the first generation of NGT48 reached 5,850 with 1,351 from within Niigata Prefecture.

After the press conference, the news was covered on Niigata Nippou (Niigata’s Local Newspaper), which showed their high, optimistic expectations about NGT48 stage.

It was also announced that current AKB48 member, Yuki Kashiwagi, will also joining NGT48 as well. Her last stage as NMB48 was held on May 24th (Sun) and this has become an unexpected announcement for her. Yuki Kashiwagi will be joining NGT48 from October at the very start of the group.

Member Comments:
Rie Kitahara (NGT48 Captain):
“I am very happy to see so many people showed up to this venue. I couldn’t wait for today’s announcement of the stage. I heard that “Lovela 2” is a fashion building, so I’m hoping for NGT48 stage will be fashionable stage. I’m looking forward to be with Niigata people!”

Marina Nishigata:
“I’m happy to be here as NGT48’s first group member. (Asked about the impression of Niigata) It was very different from what I have imagined, I thought it was full of rice farms, but it’s full of buildings and it’s a very clean city. I don’t mean something weird. I’m very happy that the stage has been decided. I’m looking forward for the opening!”

Yuka Ogino:
“I want to try my best with the captain and Marina-chan to making NGT48 become reality. With my experience as Baito AKB, I would like to deliver my smiles to the people in Niigata!”

NGT48 Theater:
Address: Lovela 2 (4th Floor) 1-4-8 Bandai Chuou-ku, Niigata-shi, Niigata-ken 950-0088

Related Links:
NGT48 Official Website: NGT48 Official Website: http://ngt48.jp/
Lovela Official Website: http://www.lovela-bandai.com/

Author

Satsuki

Grad student in Tokyo. Born in Tokyo, raised in New York, studied in London. My interests lies in Tokyo's urban street cultures and girls cultures,rock music, fashion and manga. Just livin' it up :)