Maybe if you PM'd him he would tell you??? Likely it's a glitch... I've seen the software glitch before, but the only real way is to ask him - again, best via PM. Spasibo.
Your post is a little confusing. The 'can no longer start a new topic on the 2012 tickets page' is at odds with 'This seems to be the only area I can start a new topic'. Also, when you say '2012 Tickets' do you mean the "2012 Event Tickets" (which is a category with an 'active topics' list for all the individual boards) or the actual '2012 Tickets Discussion' board?
Without knowing more I'll hazard a guess that you might be looking at the '2012 Event Tickets' category page, which does not let you start a new topic (because you can only do that in the individual board). Make sure you've browsed your way to the '2012 Tickets Discussion' board, and you shouldn't have any trouble.