<p>In most arena seats, it will be difficult to avoid the heads of the people in the row in front of you. A few years ago I got tickets in Indianapolis that were in the front row of a small balcony next to a broadcaster's booth. I used a 70-300 zoom lens that was less than 6 inches long at the 70 mm end of the range. I used it mostly at the 300 mm setting and then cropped. This is one of the pictures I shot:<br>
<img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-DhTMfbZ/0/L/i-DhTMfbZ-L.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="600" /><br>
There are more here: http://photos.randrews4.com/Sports/20130514-Knicks-v-Pacers/n-phsXw/</p>
<p>More recently, I got comped seats in the lower level for a WNBA game. Since the arena wasn't full, I could find a spot where there was no one directly in front of me. I used a 28-300 zoom for this game. It was also less than 6 inches at the wide angle setting. <br>
<img src="https://photos.smugmug.com/Sports/20150614-Indiana-Fever/i-T5sjNLc/0/L/20150614_Sky%20vs.%20Fever_5273a-L.jpg" alt="" width="400" height="600" /><br>
more here: http://photos.randrews4.com/Sports/20150614-Indiana-Fever/</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>