The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the organization and attendance of live events, especially in confined spaces like public sports and entertainment arenas. We have developed models for optimal arena seating that adhere to social distancing protocols to address these challenges. Our approach involves creating modified 2D knapsack-type model instances for event arenas, allowing for the quick generation of seating layouts while considering different objective criteria. We have explored solution approaches on operational/tactical and strategic levels, tailored to different event types and priorities such as maximizing overall attendance or accommodating VIP and sponsor groups. Our collaboration with a German football club has demonstrated the effectiveness and adaptability of our model, and the potential for substantial gains, 12% in seating capacity utilization and event revenue compared to manual plan generation approaches. Our framework offers a robust decision-making tool that event planners can quickly adapt to infrastructures requiring similar social distancing protocols.