For those readers who have never heard of "American Ninja Warrior" -- which until not so long ago included us -- here's what we wrote when we were first asked about this topic, back on 9/10/2012, below which you can find the answer to this recently received follow-up query.
For some reason, this event pretty much passed us by, so we had to do some investigation to answer your question, and we're still unsure why so little seems to have been made of it by the local media, although there was some coverage in the R-J. From what we've read, we still can't tell whether or not the event was open to the general public as spectators, but we sense that it was not.
For those sharing a similar ignorance to the Research Dept. at LVA, "American Ninja Warrior" is a spinoff of the Japanese sports-entertainment TV special "Sasuke," in which 100 competitors attempt to complete a grueling four-stage obstacle course. The series began in 1997 and to date there have been 27 three-hour Japanese specials, shot on location, with edited versions of the show screening in 18 different countries.
The U.S. version has taken place three times, putting a range of top American athletes through a series of physical trials that test their limits of strength, agility, and endurance. The first three seasons took place in California, with finalists traveling to Japan for the finale, in which they attempted to conquer Mount Midoriyama; 2012 was the first time that this legendary obstacle course was recreated on U.S. soil, at a location somewhere at the south end of the Strip (we're not entirely sure where specifically).
Cable channel G4 held 6 regional tryouts in three host cities (Venice Beach, Dallas, and Miami) to find the top 100 competitors, who competed for a top prize of $500,000. Yep, this contest is no joke. Season Four began airing on May 20, 2012 on both G4 and NBC, concluding in August, and stuntman Brent Steffensen was the only contestant to make it to Stage 3 of the four levels. To date, over 2,700 people in total have attempted to conquer Mount Midoriyama, of whom only three have been successful -- Steffensen was the first American to conquer the "Ultimate Cliffhanger" obstacle, but he ultimately failed in the the "Hang Climbing" event, hence there was no half-million dollar payday for him this time around. It was Steffensen's second attempt at the contest, so perhaps the third time will be a charm, if he can face it again.
For more information, and to submit a video entry (go on, if you think you're tough enough), visit the G4 website.
Picking up where this left off, the evident success of the move to Las Vegas in 2012 was followed up for the 2013's Season 5 of "American Ninja Warrior" again filming its season finale in Las Vegas, which until further notice will be the American home of "Mt. Midoriyama". With the National Finals (screening of the four-stage finale is ongoing) hitting a season high and beating out all the competition ratings-wise when it aired on NBC on Monday, Sept. 2, the future of "American Ninja Warrior" seems secure until further notice.
While the 2013 finals were filmed back in June, at a location just east of the Strip between Tropicana and Hacienda (see map on the sign-up page), the good news is that the audience is indeed open and tickets are free. You can sign up now to put your name down on the wait list for the 2014 filming. The only stipulation we can see is that audience members must be at least 12 years of age. If you sign up, you'll also be added to an email list to receive newsletter updates about future filming dates. Good luck!
