CHICAGO (AP) – Chicago Cubs officials studied shadows and dark corners Tuesday as they worked to get the bugs out of the Wrigley Field lights before the team’s historic night baseball opener.

“The light levels are very, very good in themselves,” said Don Grenesko, Cubs vice president of baseball oprations. “What we need to do is re-adjust some of the aiming of the lighting and eliminate some of the dark spots in the outfield.”

The first night game in the history of the 74-year-old park is scheduled for Aug. 8, when the Cubs play host to the Philadelphia Phillies.

But players and fans got a preview Monday night, when the Cubs worked out under the lights for the first time before about 3,000 fans who paid $100 a ticket. The six banks of floodlights – three each along the left-field and right-field sides were turned on as the crowd sang the national anthem.

Cubs officials said they wanted the occasion to be entertaning, but also wanted to get some idea of any adjustments that would have to be made over the next two weeks.

Some players complained afterward that they couldn’t see the ball in the outfield and along the left-field lines.

“I only saw half the ball,” said third baseman Vance Law. “In my opinion, they’re going to have to do something.”

Outfield Gary Varso, recently recalled from Chicago’s Class AAA Iowa team, said walking down the left-field and right-field corners was “like walking into a closet.”

Wrigley now is the only major-league park without light fixtures in the outfield, Grenesko said.

“General Electric, the premier designer, came to us with the idea of being able to light Wrigley entirely from the grandstands,” he said. “From our point of view, that was very appealing because it allows us to protect the aesthetic quality of the ballpark.

“The infield is fine, from a batter’s standpoint. There’s always some period of adjustment and some re-aiming. We’ve been meeting with the light designers today to work on it.”

Manager Don Zimmer said none of his players complained too loudly, and many said the lights, which cost about $5 million, would make it easier to see at night than in the late-afternoon sun.

“Each one had a little different story, depending on whether it was in left field or outfield,” Zimmer said. “But we all know it will take time to get used to it.”

Outfielder Andre Dawson, who hit the first home run under the lights Monday during a home-run contest for the fans, makes no secret of the fact that he would rather play day games.

But, he said, “I’ll make the adjustment.”

“It felt a little weird at first,” Dawson said. “But I got my rhythm. I had no trouble seeing the ball at the plate.”

Officials said his first home-run ball which sailed into the left-field bleachers, will be sent to the Hall of Fame.

The Cubs are the last major-league team to switch on the lights. They have scheduled seven night games this year and 18 a year through 2002.

The lights controversy has raged in the halls of city and state government and in the streets near the ballpark, where opponents made plans to set up patrols in the Wrigleyville neighborhood to guard against vandalism during night games.