How to use posts for event list? (Virtual Conference)

I would love a point in the right direction. I’m considering Ghost for another project but I can’t figure out the best way to do this somewhat oddball scenario with the taxonomies available.

For hosting an online (virtual) conference due to COVID-19, I want to make a mini-site that handles registrations and gives access to webinar links privately for logged in (and paid) users. Think something like online.event.com.

Here are my questions:

  1. Can I restrict giving accounts to only those users who have paid?
    I would imagine this would be as simple as not including a registration form and instead importing users via the API from a database of registrants. I don’t think the Memberships option would work for this because it’s a one-off situation, but I’d be interested if it could.
  2. What is the best way to add metadata like the webinar start time?
    I’m imagining something like the publish date, but I don’t think that lets you set future dates. Any other ideas?
  3. Any general tips for handling thousands of visitors?
    This is the first larger traffic site I’d be considering for Ghost, so is there anything I should be aware of in how it behaves under stress?

I did find this old post which covers some aspect. It would be great to hear if any other ideas come!

Good to know!