‘Ninja Warrior’ moves indoors, but not for Las Vegas final

“American Ninja Warrior” is moving indoors for part of its upcoming 12th season, but that won’t affect the show’s finals, which will come to Las Vegas for the ninth time this June.

Qualifying rounds for the NBC competition series will take place inside Washington’s DC Armory and the Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis, Missouri.

Each round has traditionally taken place outdoors, at night, usually in front of a well-lit city landmark. The move indoors will allow production to film during the day without worrying about the weather, Kristen Stabile said in an interview here.

The Los Angeles rounds at Universal Studios and the Las Vegas finals will remain outdoors, said Stabile, the executive vice president of production at A. Smith & Co. Productions, which oversees the series.

One of the reasons for the Las Vegas finals to remain outside is practical. The pools of water for some of the obstacle course’s higher elements in the finals need to be dug out of the ground to attain the right depth for safety.

Then there’s the excitement factor of filming near the Las Vegas Strip, Stabile said.

“Vegas is a city that feels like a celebration. People go there to be entertained. When you think of Vegas, above and beyond the gambling and casinos, there are the shows, boxing. These are major events. There’s always something to be celebrated. It’s a city that’s based on tourism. It’s based on entertaining.”

Tickets for the Las Vegas finals of “American Ninja Warrior” will be available later this spring at this link.