RETURNING WARRIOR
NBC's “American Ninja Warrior” is returning to Oklahoma City, with filming scheduled for April 12-13 in front of the State Capitol
NBC's “American Ninja Warrior” is set to make a return to Oklahoma City, where it first staged competitions in 2016 in front of the State Capitol.
Sue Hollenbeck, director of sports business at the Oklahoma City Convention and Visitors Bureau, said Thursday the producers of the show are likely to spend 10 days in town setting up the production, filming and then taking down the sets.
The filming is set for April 12-13.
“We're really excited to have it back in town,” Hollenbeck said. “It's been three years since they were last in town. It bodes well for the city, state and the Capitol that they want to return in 2019.”
Hollenbeck said the producers fell in love with the historic Capitol building, noting it has the perfect height and width to be used as a backdrop for the elaborate staging of the courses. She added they also love the way the building looks when lit up.
Hosted by Matt Iseman and Akbar Gbajabiamila, the obstacle course competition series will shoot in six cities this season, including Los Angeles (Universal Studios backlot), Atlanta (The Home Depot Backyard at Mercedes Benz Stadium), Oklahoma City (Capitol Building), Baltimore (Rash Field) and Cincinnati (downtown), along with its inaugural trip to the Pacific Northwest and its first time shooting indoors at Washington's iconic Tacoma Dome.
The show's national finals once again will take place in Las Vegas.
The action-packed series follows competitors as they tackle challenging obstacle courses in city qualifying and finals rounds throughout the country. Top competitors in each of the city finals rounds move on to the national finals, where they compete on a four-stage course that includes multiple obstacles on each stage. The winner, who must complete all four stages, including the final 75-foot rope climb, will take home a grand prize of $1 million.