By Alex Kotler

Ticket Summit NYC paraded through town last week, bringing pomp and ceremony to the elegant, but dated, Waldorf=Astoria Hotel in Midtown Manhattan.

Billed as the leading trade show and conference in the secondary ticket industry, the function rallied together experts and leaders from the ticket community and fostered an atmosphere in which to forge professional relationships.

First launched in 2006, Ticket Summit continues to expand in scope and reach. Once solely a trade show for ticket sellers, the experience now spans all dimensions of the ticketing and entertainment industries. Molly Martinez, Executive Director at Ticket Summit, calls the conference the “leading networking event for ticket industry experts,” and – based upon my experience – she may be right.

For three nights and two days delegates congregate, shuffling along carpets and through hallways that one might envisage in the home of Vincent Price, attending best-practice sessions, meeting vendors in the exhibition hall, and mingling at cocktail hours.

Given my schedule, I was limited to the latter – although I obviously took time to appreciate the décor. In fact, I missed all but the first and last receptions. Regardless, the frequency with which an event (even tangentially) relevant to the football industry comes to New York is about as often as Nicklas Bendtner scores a winner for Arsenal. (Given last Saturday, perhaps the times are a changin’.) Hence, I capitalized on proximity to learn more about ticketing.

Aside from chatting up the waiters in their formal jackets serving steamed dumplings and assorted Yakitori, I made numerous connections including a fellow from England who had just gotten off the phone with former Wales international John Hartson, now a commentator for Setanta Sports, who was next headed to Los Angeles to see his other mate, footballer-cum-actor, Vinnie Jones. We discussed ticketing regulations in the UK, which – in order to operate in the secondary market – led his London-based firm to register as an American company in the state of Delaware.

I also met some well-tanned women from South Florida who would rival George Hamilton for exposure to vitamin D. Ticket brokers and travel agents, the couple were looking at setting up partnerships to arrange World Cup 2010 tours. Fortunately for them, I was able to apply my experience at Soccerex 2008 in South Africa and offer reassurances that the country would be ready for the event.

The most instructive of my conversations, though, came as I headed to the bar for a refill, and I met Justin Paterno, Senior Analyst at YooNew, standing alone and unavoidably in my path. Based in Manhattan, YooNew leverages real-time technology and creativity to carve out an uncontested niche in the market. The firm has launched a dynamic, online marketplace that helps consumers save money and time when buying and selling tickets. The difference, though, is that it works like a futures market, enabling fans to purchase “fantasy” tickets for games that may or may not actually happen. Playing on the forces of demand and fan devotion, YooNew has created a marketplace based upon tangible assets. The firm is currently exploring new and emerging markets, with a possible focus on football.

What I didn’t learn from discussions I found in the materials provided delegates, namely in the trade magazine Venues Today. Therein, I read several articles that dealt with the other question, besides how technology was shaping ticketing, of how the economy was impacting the industry. I had only to flip a few pages to find an interview with Tim Leiweke, CEO of AEG, who provided the answer clear as day:

“Anyone who says there is not ultimately going to be an impact is living in a balloon and inhaling too much helium. It doesn’t take you long to figure out less people are buying tickets; less people are buying suites and premier seats. There are people and companies that own suites that are getting out of suites. Sponsorship deals are down. Naming rights deals are down. This has an impact all around and everywhere.”

Even with Leiweke and economists singing the recession blues, the venues industry is still seeing returns on music. According to Venues Today’s 2008 Year-End report, the top five venues in the 30,000 or more category made $12 million more than their counterparts last year – growth of nearly 38 percent. For arenas and other facilities in the 30,000-15,000-seat category, the top five venues grossed an additional $70 million over last year, a boost of over 23 percent.

With these impressive figures in mind, I returned to an interview that I gave months ago with Laith Al-Janabi of LAJ Sports Advisory Services on the Football Partnerships podcast. If music is making money for venues, then clearly football clubs and stadium owners should explore concerts as alternative revenue streams, per one of many of Laith’s suggestions.

Setting down my drink and making for the door, I was asked by one of the staff if I wanted more drink tickets. Curiously, after speaking about RFID cards and entering stadia using technology found on iPhones, I could only chortle as she offered me three carnival-esque paper tickets linked by unsevered perforations wound upon a roll. Smiling, I thanked her and declined, but promised to return for another round next year. And, for longer than just the happy hours.