The News 4 I-Team investigation last week found out that Rich Riebeling, the city's COO, spent $135,000 on hiring architects to get started planning the new soccer stadium.
The money was taken from the stadium's budget, but apparently the Nashville Sports Authority was unaware of the spending until the investigation.
Rich Riebeling admitted to and apologized for the unauthorized spending in a letter to Nashville's Metro Council members yesterday.
The Major League Soccer stadium project has had its fair share of issues over the past few months - in November, Nashville was sued by those opposing the construction at the Fairgrounds. The project is estimated to cost around $275 million.