From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishthe standsthe stands[plural] (also the stand British English)DS a building where people stand or sit to watch the game at a sports ground → grandstand In the stands, fifty of Jill’s friends and family have come to watch her last game. → stand
Examples from the Corpus
the stands• Fan power Manchester United and Everton both had trouble from fans who were not satisfied with supporting from the stands.• There were over 40,000 people in the stands.• The crowd is small and quiet, only seven hundred people in the stands.• A couple more people in the stands?• Those in the stands were told to stay seated.• And what a sight for his dad Pat, watching in the stands.• And of course, your mom and dad were in the stands to see it.• Most were on the field, but several were hoisted into the stands by forklifts.• Torrents of water sluiced through the stands, drowning pitch, players and spectators. 