One of the many roads to the finals of “American Ninja Warrior” in Las Vegas, and the grueling four-stage Mount Midoriyama obstacle course, will pass through San Antonio next year.

NBC Universal announced recently that the Alamo City is on the list as the second stop for the action-packed series, which follows competitors tackling challenging obstacle courses. The warrior who successfully makes it to the top of Mount Midoriyami in the finals takes home a grand prize of $1 million.

“A lot of Ninjas are here in San Antonio and in Texas,” Ninja Warrior veteran Brent Steffensen said. “It’s a major hub for a lot of the talent on ‘American Ninja Warrior.’”

Texas talent includes Steffensen’s colleague Kacy Catanzaro, Daniel Gil of Houston and Abel Gonzales of Edinburg, to name a few.

The popular show will set up the courses March 26 and 27 to shoot two episodes in front of the Bexar County Courthouse downtown at Main Plaza, according to city officials.

Steffensen, who has competed several times for the top spot, said the decision is a great benefit not only to local athletes but to friends and family hoping to cheer them on.

“A lot of people say, ‘Come cheer me on my run with Ninja Warrior,’” he recalled. “They invite the kids and everyone, but little do they know they’re running at 4:30 a.m.”

Previous airings of the show have often commenced at sundown or at sunrise, Steffensen said, allowing the production team to manipulate the runner’s surroundings.

The downtown location is the perfect spot for visitors to stay in a nearby hotel, Steffensen said.

“It's nice to have them close, to call them and say, ‘I'm running soon,’ and they just walk over to check out their Ninja run,” he said.

Before coming to San Antonio, the show will be in Los Angeles on March 7 and 8. The contest continues in Daytona, Florida, April 7-8; Kansas City, Missouri, April 24-25; Cleveland on May 8 and 9; and Denver on May 23 and 24.

The finals take place June 18-24 in Las Vegas.

“American Ninja Warrior” is entering its sixth season on NBC and its ninth on the Esquire Network, which will show an encore presentation after NBC’s airing. The hit show, a U.S. spinoff of the popular Japanese TV series “Sasuke,” averaged 7.2 million viewers last season.

Athletes hoping to prove themselves have until Jan. 2 to sign up at www.anwcasting.com.

“There’s a lot of people always looking for places to train,” Steffensen said. “I hope they put their submission videos in and hopefully a lot of locals will sign up. It would be cool to see a lot of S.A. talent represent.”

jbeltran@express-news.net

Twitter: @JBfromSA