Evansville, Indiana · Vanderburgh County · Downtown Entertainment District
Harding, Shymanski & Company, P.S.C. serves businesses and organizations in the Ford Center district of downtown Evansville from its office at 21 SE Third Street, Suite 500 — located two blocks from the arena’s main entrance on SE Second Street.
Accounting and Tax Services for Ford Center District Businesses in Evansville
The Ford Center opened in 2011 and changed the energy of the blocks along Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. between Main and Walnut Streets in a way that most downtown Evansville projects before it had not. The arena brought with it the economic activity that a 11,000-seat venue generates on event nights: restaurants filling up, the downtown hotels doing business, bars along Main Street seeing the kind of volume that makes downtown feel like a place people want to be rather than a place they drive through.
The businesses operating in and around the Ford Center district — restaurants, event caterers, hotels, retail that benefits from arena foot traffic, and the professional services firms that serve this community — are located within the same downtown grid as the 21 SE Third Street office. In some cases they are within a two-block walk. All accounting, tax, advisory, and financial services for these clients are provided at Suite 500 at 21 SE Third Street. No services are rendered at the arena or anywhere in the entertainment district itself.
Evansville Office: 21 SE Third Street, Suite 500, Evansville, IN 47708 · (812) 464-9161 · Monday–Friday 8:00 AM–5:00 PM
Ford Center Evansville — Downtown Entertainment District History, Development, and Business Environment
Anyone who followed downtown Evansville through the 1990s and 2000s remembers what the riverfront blocks looked like before the arena: Roberts Stadium on the east side was where the major events happened, and the downtown waterfront was mostly the casino, the Evansville Museum, and a collection of surface parking lots that reflected decades of urban renewal-era planning decisions. The debate over whether to build a new downtown arena was one of the more contentious civic conversations in recent Evansville history — the Roberts Stadium versus downtown camp, the question of what to do with the beloved but aging old stadium, the financing structure, the tax considerations. The Ford Center ultimately opened in fall 2011, Roberts Stadium was demolished, and the downtown waterfront began the slow process of becoming a destination in a way it had not been for a generation.
The arena sits on the block bounded by Main Street, Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Walnut Street, and SE 6th Street. The old National Events Plaza, which functions as the city’s convention and meeting venue, sits to the east along Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. and Locust Street and connects the arena district to the Civic Center government complex.
What the Ford Center district looks like on a Tuesday afternoon versus a Friday night when the Evansville Thunderbolts are playing or a national touring act is in town is a significant difference. During the day, the blocks around the Ford Center see steady foot traffic driven by nearby offices, with professionals and government employees frequenting lunch spots and small businesses throughout the downtown core, particularly along Main Street, which serves as a central hub for daytime activity. When events are scheduled, the neighborhood transforms: parking fills up along SE Second, Third, and Walnut Streets, the restaurants run full houses, and the Double Tree by Hilton Evansville and Hyatt Place Evansville Downtown fill up.
The commercial activity that has grown around the arena since 2011 is not uniform. Some businesses that opened in the years immediately following the arena’s debut did not survive. The restaurant and bar landscape in any entertainment district has high turnover, and the Ford Center district is not an exception. But the businesses that have established themselves over multiple years — the ones that have figured out how to serve both the event-night crowd and the daytime professional population — have developed operational patterns and financial profiles that reward consistent professional accounting relationships rather than transactional annual-only tax filing.
Why Ford Center District Businesses Engage a Downtown Evansville CPA Firm
Hospitality and food service accounting. Restaurants and bars in the Ford Center district manage the full complexity of the hospitality accounting picture: tip reporting compliance under IRS regulations, sales tax collection and remittance to the Indiana Department of Revenue, cost of goods accounting for food and beverage operations, fluctuating payroll across event and non-event periods, and the inventory management issues that come with perishable product lines. These businesses benefit from a bookkeeping and accounting relationship that understands the sector rather than treating it as a standard commercial operation.
Hotel and lodging tax compliance. Hotel properties in the downtown Evansville market are subject to state sales tax on accommodations and the local innkeeper’s tax administered by Vanderburgh County. The occupancy reporting requirements and the property-level accounting that supports accurate tax compliance are distinct enough from general business accounting that specialized professional attention provides real value.
Event-driven cash flow and payroll complexity. Businesses whose revenue concentrates around event schedules — and whose staffing fluctuates accordingly — present payroll and cash flow management challenges that routine accounting relationships sometimes handle imperfectly. Seasonal staffing, event-night overtime, and the cash-intensive nature of some entertainment district operations create a set of bookkeeping and compliance considerations that benefit from professional oversight.
Commercial real estate and property accounting. The renovation of the McCurdy Hotel and the broader investment activity around the Ford Center district has involved commercial real estate transactions, historic tax credits, and the kind of cost segregation analysis that can substantially affect the tax position of property owners who invest in downtown renovation projects. These transactions benefit from advisory support that understands both the real estate and the tax dimensions simultaneously.
Immediate proximity. The SE Third Street office is two blocks north of the Ford Center’s SE Second Street entrance — walkable for business owners who are already in the district for other reasons, and a less-than-five-minute drive for those coming from the immediate surrounding blocks. For owners managing a business with demanding operational hours, the proximity of a downtown professional office matters practically.
Professional Services Available to Ford Center District Clients
All services are provided from the downtown Evansville office. Each links to its full service page.
Office Location and Directions from the Ford Center District
The office at 21 SE Third Street, Suite 500 is two blocks southeast of the Ford Center’s main entrance on Main Street — within the same downtown grid as the arena and the surrounding entertainment district. Street parking is available on SE Third Street and in the Third Street Parking Garage.
Driving Directions from the Ford Center
From the Ford Center main entrance (Main Street): Head northwest on Main Street on less than a block, then turn right onto Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. Turn right onto Walnut Street and continue for four blocks. Turn right onto SE Third Street. 21 SE Third Street will be on your left within a block. 0.5 miles
From the Bally’s Evansville (Riverside Drive): Head west on Riverside Drive. Turn right (southeast) onto NW Second Street. Turn left (northwest) onto Sycamore Street, then take the first right onto NW Third Street. Continue for 0.1 miles. 21 SE Third Street is on your right. Approximately 1.1 miles, under 3 minutes by car.
From the Lloyd Expressway (US-62 Business) inbound: If eastbound on Lloyd Expressway, take the Fulton Ave. exit. Go straight though the intersection to W John Street. Turn right onto NW 3rd Street. Follow NW 3rd Street for 0.5 miles. The building will be on your right. If westbound on Lloyd Expressway, take the Fulton Ave. exit. Turn south under the Lloyd Expressway, then turn left onto W John Street. Turn right onto NW 3rd Street. Follow NW 3rd Street for 0.5 miles. The building will be on your right. Total distance from exit ramp, 0.9 miles.
Harding, Shymanski & Company — Downtown Evansville CPA Office Two Blocks from the Ford Center
All professional services for Ford Center district clients are provided exclusively at 21 SE Third Street, Suite 500, Evansville, Indiana 47708. The firm operates from this single downtown location and provides no services at any other address. The Google Business Profile verified at this location confirms the firm’s presence serving Vanderburgh County and the Tri-State region.
Office Information — Evansville, Indiana
Harding, Shymanski & Company, P.S.C. 21 SE Third Street, Suite 500Evansville, IN 47708
Phone: (812) 464-9161
Fax: (812) 465-7811
Website: hsccpa.com
| Monday – Friday | 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM |
| Saturday & Sunday | Closed |
Full Service Listings and Professional Team
Complete service information and staff details are available on the Evansville CPA firm page.
Direct service pages: Accounting & Auditing · Tax Consulting · Outsourcing Services


